


heartbroken losers cult

by mikararinna



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Appearances by maybe the whole Kpop community, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 40,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24727375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikararinna/pseuds/mikararinna
Summary: Welcome to DNYL Club, a place dedicated to heartbreaks and unrequited love. Where chances are, you are still in love with your past love, regardless of how many moving on attempts you have went through. No one says forgetting your feelings for your unrequited love equals to your own happiness though.In the midst of heartbreak and unrequited love, Hyungwon joined DNYL Club as suggested by Changkyun. Someone apparently hadn't bother telling him that moving on wasn't as easy as they say. What with his crush now ending up in the same club as he did.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Minhyuk
Comments: 9
Kudos: 73





	heartbroken losers cult

**Author's Note:**

> I have this written since june last year when nct dream x hrvy's don't need your love was released. this fic is based and inspired from that song (the dnyl club). I stopped working on this temporarily last year cuz I got busy with school but while I'm in lockdown, I decided to work on it again. this fic has gone through several timelines of writing so it probably doesn't have the smoothest transition between scenes but it works. ik i said its based on the song and the club from the mv but in actual, the club is only mention for a few times in this fic. 
> 
> i spent weeks working on it and finished on 5.14 but only posted now to commemorate my 3rd year since i first posted a mx fic which also happened to be hyunghyuk. it's been 3 years since i stan monsta x, and i have never regret any of those moments. 
> 
> i hope you enjoy the fic <3 thank you for reading this.
> 
> support me [here](https://ko-fi.com/mikararinna) if you can <3

Hyungwon stared at the other blankly. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to Changkyun. So many words formulating in his head that he wanted to voice it all out. But instead he settled with a, "What?"

"You should join this club." Changkyun said, handing him a piece of flyer in the colour of red. Hyungwon's eyes skimmed through the white and yellow letters written on the flyer.

"And what club is this again?" He asked. 

"The DNYL club!" Changkyun chirped up as if the whole ordeal of this wasn't weird enough. 

Hyungwon glanced at the other before his eyes travelled back down on the flyer in his hand. He heard of the anti-love club before. It was an odd club, to say the least. Even if Hyungwon only heard of it once and never bothered thinking about it again. 

The club was founded by someone from the Accounting Faculty. After, what one would say, a tragic heartbreak, the founder decided to start a club about heartbreaks and protest of love, claiming that love was just another social construct made by humans. The club gained a lot of attention from the student body, mainly for its unique concept.

But that was a year ago. Hyungwon was surprised that the club was still around. No one knew what the club functioned as. Only members of the club knew and even then no one knew who the members were. What was more surprising was that the administrators had let the club go on for this long. Hyungwon thought the club had already been dismissed when the idea was being brought up. 

"Why must I join this club?" Hyungwon asked, looking at Changkyun. 

"Because it's fitting for you. See, the club is only for people going through a break-up, those who got dumped, those dealing with heartbreak," Changkyun said. "Unrequited love." 

Hyungwon groaned. He knew Changkyun was up to something. 

"I told you Changkyun, I have no more feelings for him." Hyungwon said. 

Changkyun arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." 

"Hyung, I have our call log from a week ago." Changkyun sighed out. "You were drunk and you wouldn't stop talking about him." 

"That was a week ago." Hyungwon countered. 

"And I don't think a week could be of any difference to you. You always- You're constantly talking about him, you know?" 

Hyungwon had the decency to lower down his head at this. He did. Hyungwon talked a lot about him. To only Changkyun at least because he didn't trust himself to talk to others about him whether he was sober or not. Changkyun was the only person he trusted on this campus. And it was good because Changkyun had known him long enough. But Hyungwon guessed even Changkyun had gotten bored about his pathetic unrequited love life. 

Changkyun bit down on his lips, he sighed. "Look hyung, I think- I think it's time for you to move on. It's been way too long and during that period of time he had gone through 3 different relationships. This time though, I think this time would last a long time. It's his longest relationship yet." 

Hyungwon's fingers fidget with the flyer in his hand. The bright red colour was starting to hurt his eyes. It was ironic how this club talked about anti-loving when the flyer being advertised was a bright red colour - the colour of love. 

"I'm not forcing you to join the club but think about it. At least you could find some new friends and begin your first step on moving on. You need it, Hyungwon." 

Did he really need it though? If Hyungwon stopped being so hung up on him then maybe it will hurt less. Maybe he would find someone better or finally date others. Changkyun stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Hyungwon raised his head to look at the younger as he patted his shoulder, giving him a soft smile. 

"Think about it, alright? I think it's time you let go of him, or at least the idea of having him. It's a start." Changkyun said. "I have to leave but text me if you need anything. Bye!" 

Hyungwon stared at the flyer again, now alone after Changkyun left him. The flyer had a minimalist design with not much information about the club except for the purpose of it and where to sign up. He shook his head, folding the flyer in half and shove it to the back of his bag. He would throw it away later.

Morning classes probably weren't Hyungwon's favourite part of college. Then again, a lot of parts about college weren't his favourite either. He did love his course and maybe the few friends he made in college but otherwise, he wasn't fond of it. He especially wasn't excited about getting up early to attend classes. He thought he had already left that lifestyle back in highschool. Hyungwon guessed he was wrong. 

Someone bumped into his shoulders, snapping him out of his daydream. Hyungwon was about to curse the life out of that person when his eyes finally noticed who he was. 

The blonde male smiled brightly at him, seemingly uncaring of how early it was. "Good morning, Hyungwon!" 

"Morning, Minhyuk." Hyungwon greeted back.

"Ready for your morning class?" Minhyuk asked him, still grinning ear to ear. Hyungwon wondered how he kept up with that. Giving off bright energy even at 7 o'clock in the morning. 

"Do I ever look like I'm ready for morning classes?" Hyungwon countered. 

Minhyuk let out a cheery laugh. "Yeah, you have a point. Do you want to get breakfast with me? If you're not late to your class, that is." 

"No, breakfast sounds nice." Hyungwon said. 

They head on to the cafeteria together. The walk was silent and Hyungwon internally debated with himself whether he should say something. He decided he shouldn't. Hyungwon's mind didn't work well in the morning. And here he was, early morning with Minhyuk, going for breakfast together. Hyungwon didn't think his mind would form a conversation that wouldn't leave the two of them in embarrassment by the end of today. 

"So, how have you been?" Minhyuk asked him as they sat down in the cafeteria with their trays of food.

"I- I've been well. And you?" Hyungwon answered, taking a bite from his sandwich. 

Minhyuk nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine." He mumbled, poking at his food. "I haven't seen you in awhile." 

"You've been busy." Hyungwon said just as Minhyuk's phone rang. 

The other male gave Hyungwon an apologetic smile before picking up his phone. Minhyuk decided to answer the call there. Hyungwon looked away, pretending that he wasn't listening in to the conversation. It irked him but it wasn't like he had any other choice. When Minhyuk finally ended the call, Hyungwon turned to look at him again. 

"Your boyfriend?" Hyungwon asked. 

Minhyuk hummed. "Yeah, sorry about that. He was just wondering where I was. Anyways, yeah, I guess I have been busy." 

"You guess?" Hyungwon asked, arching an eyebrow. It was meant as a tease but Hyungwon couldn't help the bitterness that left his mouth.

"Okay, maybe I have been busy. But Hyungwon you know you can call me any time. You know I'll be willing to hang out with you." Minhyuk reasoned. 

Maybe Minhyuk would be willing to hang out with him if Hyungwon just called him but then, "Your boyfriend wouldn't like it." 

"That-" Minhyuk sighed. "Well, yeah, but I can- I can talk to him. He gets a little bit jealous when I hang out with others." 

"I'm your friend, Minhyuk." Hyungwon said. "I've known you since we were in high school. Why would he be jealous of me?" 

"He just- you know, he's easily jealous." 

No, Hyungwon didn't know. The last time Hyungwon had a proper conversation with Minhyuk was a long time ago that he couldn't recall when. Every time they met up or even when they were still planning to hang out, Minhyuk's boyfriend would always somehow show up and ruin it. 

As Minhyuk's friend, sure, Hyungwon was happy for Minhyuk and his current stable relationship. This was the longest relationship he was ever in. But it was irritating how much his boyfriend controlled him. It was annoying how he wouldn't even let Minhyuk see Hyungwon alone out of pure jealousy. 

Hyungwon and Minhyuk had been friends for a long time. Did this asshole really think he could just come up and make Minhyuk cut off his ties with his friends just because he was Minhyuk's boyfriend?

"I'm sorry, Hyungwon. Maybe I should've talked to him about it. He would understand and-" 

"Minhyuk," Hyungwon cut him off when Minhyuk started to look guilty over this. He gave Minhyuk a reassuring smile. "It's okay. You don't have to feel bad about this. I know he makes you happy, I can step back once in a while." 

"But-"

"I have to go. My class will start soon and I don't want to be late. See you around." 

Truth be told, Hyungwon didn't mind being late to his class if he could spend another second with Minhyuk. But Hyungwon saw Minhyuk's boyfriend entering the cafeteria and he really wasn't in the mood to stay longer. He hastily picked up his things, throwing away his half-eaten sandwich and walked to class. 

Hyungwon wouldn't say Minhyuk's boyfriend was evil or some sort. He seemed nice. But Hyungwon could only judge him by the few times they interacted. Other than that, he really wasn't someone Hyungwon was fond of. 

He was protective of Minhyuk, which Hyungwon could understand to a certain extent. Minhyuk needed protecting. The male could easily fool others but was also easily fooled by others. Most times though, Hyungwon found his protectiveness to be somewhat ridiculous. He wouldn't let Minhyuk hang out with Hyungwon or any of Minhyuk's friends claiming that they would steal Minhyuk away from him. 

Hyungwon get that the man might be insecure or was easily jealous but his reasoning proved that he was plainly stupid. 

Limiting Minhyuk's social circle and conquering his life just because he was jealous didn't seem like the right decision. He couldn't do that to Minhyuk. Minhyuk was his own person and he had to be around someone other than his boyfriend. 

There were a lot of occasions where Hyungwon wanted to voice it out. And it wasn't just Hyungwon. Their other friends like Changkyun and Kihyun were highly concerned at his boyfriend's attitude. But it was hard to talk about it to Minhyuk who always looked the happiest when he was with his boyfriend. Plus, talking to someone who was madly in love was pretty much useless either way. So most of them had decided to back off, even Hyungwon. It might cost him his friendship with Minhyuk but maybe it was for a better cause. 

For once, the distance could possibly make him forget about the feelings he has for Minhyuk. Maybe he would stop being so hung up about Minhyuk. Maybe he would finally move on and find someone new. 

But that was five months ago when Minhyuk first dated his current boyfriend. 

Today marked the fifth month Hyungwon had been keeping his distance from Minhyuk – both for his own good and because of Minhyuk's boyfriend. But five months made no difference. Just as he thought he had finally moved on he was reminded of Minhyuk. 

The way Minhyuk smiled; how he laughed; how they were always each other's everything. He would see Minhyuk on campus and he would be in love again. Even though he didn't get to talk to Minhyuk or even say a mere greeting to the other. He would be so lost in his thoughts and it was frustrating. 

Frustrating because Minhyuk had a boyfriend and they have been in a relationship for five months now. There was no way they would break up any time soon or if they would ever break up. And here was Hyungwon, still madly in love with Minhyuk. 

Hyungwon entered his lecture hall and plopped down on the seat near the back. Meeting Minhyuk this morning was doing no good to the mix of emotions bubbling inside him. It was dangerous to be in love with your best friend. And loving your best friend who was already in a stable relationship was basically standing on the edge of a cliff. No matter what he chose to do, everything will end up with him being hurt or Minhyuk being hurt, maybe everyone would get hurt. 

He really should learn to suck it up and move on. 

Hyungwon took out the materials he needed for this class. It was a good thing they both took different courses, lest Hyungwon wouldn't know what to do if they had to see each other in classes. 

As Hyungwon took out his things, a crumple of paper fell out from his bag. He stared at it for a while longer before he remembered that he shouldn't be littering. He picked up the piece of paper and uncrumpled it. If it was something important he would take it; if it was useless he would crumple it up and shove it back into his bag until he found a trash can to throw it into. 

When the paper was uncrumpled, Hyungwon was met with a bright red brochure. 

It was the club brochure Changkyun gave him a few days ago that he was planning to throw away. Hyungwon had completely forgotten about it. He looked at the brochure, reading through the contents. Reading it again, Hyungwon thought the club didn't sound so bad. It was only a club that gathered a bunch of lonely, heartbroken people together. The worst that could happen was Hyungwon would finally move on and his feelings for Minhyuk would eventually disappear. 

The best that could happen was Hyungwon would find a few new friends - all lonely and heartbroken. He could expand his social circle and meet new people. He could forget his feelings towards Minhyuk. He wouldn't be in love with Minhyuk anymore. He would be free from heartbreak. 

Hyungwon stared at the brochure. His lecturer came in. The class would start soon. Hyungwon folded the paper neatly and wedged it between the pages of his notebook. He would sign up for the club after his morning lecture. 

It was exactly a week later that Hyungwon found himself standing in front of a practice room in the Dance Faculty building. He stood in front of the door, unmoving as he stared ahead. 

A week ago after his morning lecture, Hyungwon had signed up with one of the board members of the club by the name of Ten from the Dance Faculty. He hadn't cared much about it later on, deciding that he was done with everything. It was only yesterday when an email came in that a club meeting would be held today. 

For a moment Hyungwon forgot that the DNYL club was indeed, a club. And it functioned just the same as the other clubs on campus. The pre-scheduled club meetings, the regular club activities, everything was similar to the basketball club or the photography club. And as a club member, Hyungwon had to attend the club meetings because...

Because what actually? Nobody really cared if he attended the club meetings or not. It wasn't like anyone took note of it; it wasn't like this club was a legitimate club that counted as his credit marks. He could just not attend any club meeting and no one would know. He could walk away now and no one would know. 

"Hyungwon?" Except he thought of that plan a little too late and now someone had seen him. 

Hyungwon turned his head to look at the one calling him and was surprised to see a familiar face. "Soyou noona?" 

"What are you doing here?" Soyou asked, tilting her head to the side. She glanced at the door to the practice room before turning to look at Hyungwon again. "Oh, are you here for the club meeting?" 

"You're a member of the DNYL club?" Hyungwon asked instead. 

"Kind of, I'm the vice president and co-founder, I guess." 

"You're the what now?" 

Soyou shrugged her shoulders. "Are you going in?" 

"How did you end up founding this club?" 

Soyou rolled her eyes. "I rather not tell. Now come on in, the meeting is starting soon." 

Hyungwon followed as Soyou opened the door to the practice room. There were folded chairs neatly arranged in the room and a number of people had already taken their seats. 

With a passing glance, Hyungwon could deduce that there were about 20 people in the room, which to say the least, was quite a number. It had almost the same amount of members as the photography club. Soyou walked towards the front while Hyungwon remained at the back, slipping into a seat beside a well-built male. 

"Ok guys," Soyou clapped her hands together. "Let's start our club meeting. There are a few new members today but we won't do any introduction session because we're still short of a few members and more applicants are coming in, so we'll save that on a later date alright?" 

There was a chorus of hums from the members and everyone nodded their heads, including Hyungwon. Another male stood front, taking charge after Soyou. Hyungwon recognized him as Ten, the male he had signed up with to join the club. 

"Ok losers who are still hung up with their exes-" 

"Ten, I told you that's not the way to greet the members. You'll scare away the new ones!" 

Ten rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Alright, whatever. Hello gays, lesbians, heteros and those who wish to not be identified, today we're doing charades!" 

"Charades?" Hyungwon whispered under his breath.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun," The male beside him said and Hyungwon gave him a quick glance. 

"I hope all of you know how to play charades because I swear I'm not in the mood to explain the rules. You'll be grouped in rows and each row take turns to act something out in front. No words, sounds and noises are allowed. The first row come on up!" Ten said as the five people sitting in the front row walked up. 

Ten handed them a piece of paper that had the item they had to act out. The five of them discussed on how to do it. It didn't take more than a minute for them to find a conclusion and started acting out their parts. Hyungwon watched with interest as the first group performed a detailed act which brought the interest of the other members; getting to hear them yelling out different answers. 

"They're good," Hyungwon muttered. 

"Theatre students." The male beside him said. "You know what they say, never play charades with theatre students."

Hyungwon chuckled as the male beside him smiled and reached out his hand. "I'm Hyunwoo." 

"Hyungwon," He replied, shaking Hyunwoo's hand. 

"You're a new member?" Hyunwoo asked him. 

"Yeah. A friend told me to join, said I could finally move on, maybe. Hopefully." Hyungwon answered. "You?" 

"I've been here for awhile." Hyunwoo said.

"Heartbreak brought you here?" 

"I wouldn't say heartbreak. He never exactly broke my heart. He had it you know, but never took it. I'll say it's more of a heartache." Hyungwon arched an eyebrow and Hyunwoo smiled at him. 

"He's a friend. Met him in Summer 2016. We spent a lot of time together and well, I developed a crush on him. But he's those kinds, the kind who won't stay at one place for so long. He travels a lot, we still keep in contact but he doesn't know I like him." 

A round of cheer was heard from the club members. Hyunwoo and Hyungwon raised their heads to briefly look at the front before Hyunwoo turned to look at Hyungwon again. 

"At first I thought I could just forget him, you know. But it's hard. I see pictures of him that he sent to me and I just fall harder. He shows me pictures of places he's been to. Told me he enjoys the view and captures pictures of him standing in the middle of it all." Hyunwoo continued. 

"Is the club helping you? Are you moving on from him?" Hyungwon asked. 

"The most I can tell you is, if you joined DNYL to forget about your unrequited love I'll say you came to the right place but it's only temporarily. You can forget them and all your feelings for them right here, right now. But when you leave this room and see them outside, chances are, you still love them. I say this from experience." 

Hyungwon nodded his head. He couldn't help the tinge of disappointment. He joined DNYL to forget about his feelings for Minhyuk and move on. But he couldn't move on if the feelings only disappear temporarily. It was no different from him not being tied to this club. 

"I joined this club for fun actually but I ended up here for longer. I still think of him, and the club helps me find a different thing. Make sure that I'm living and not trapped in a daydream of him but without him." Hyunwoo said. 

"I'll tell you this, stay and enjoy for a while. You'll have fun I promise. Even if you still bore feelings for your unrequited love, at least you're having fun." 

Hyungwon looked at Hyunwoo and it did make sense. Whether he still had feelings for Minhyuk or not, he should learn to live life while he can. And he couldn't do that if he stayed cooped up and wallowed in self-pity. Maybe joining DNYL would give him that excitement that he lost. 

The club meeting ended with Hyungwon exchanging numbers with Hyunwoo and Soyou cornering him after the rest of the members left. Soyou glanced at him with her piercing gaze. She looked intimidating, Hyungwon forgot just how intimidating she was after not seeing her for a long time. 

"Why are you here?" Soyou asked, straight to the point. She never liked beating around the bush anyways.

"Can't I be here?" Hyungwon countered.

"Well, this club is for the heartbrokens. And you…" Soyou trailed off. "Is it Minhyuk?" 

Hyungwon sighed. "I thought I joined this club to forget about him, not having his name being brought up by the co-founder of this club." 

"Forget your feelings for him, not him. He's still your best friend, isn't he?" Soyou said. 

Hyungwon shrugged his shoulders. "If his boyfriend lets me be his best friend." 

Soyou scrunched up her nose. "I hate that guy." 

"He probably hates you too." Hyungwon remarked. 

Soyou shook her head. "How do you like the club so far? Are you going to come for the next meeting?" 

"I like it." Hyungwon answered truthfully. "I had a lot of fun." 

He did have fun. He enjoyed the way everyone was so interactive during the game of charades. He liked the way they acted out all the hard missions. And although Hyungwon was more to the introverted side, he found himself engaging freely with the other club members. 

"And yeah, maybe, maybe I'll come to the next meeting." Hyungwon said. 

Soyou smiled, "You should have told me you wanted to join the club. I could've helped you a little bit with registration." 

"I didn't even know you were a member of DNYL, much less the co-founder. What's that all about anyways?" Hyungwon asked.

"It's a long story." 

Hyungwon shrugged. "I'm in no rush." 

Soyou sighed. "Hyungsoo started this. Remember the guy from that one wild party I hosted?" 

"The banana party?" Hyungwon asked for confirmation. 

Soyou winced. "Yeah, that party. Hyungsoo started this whole thing with the help of me and Hyolyn." 

"Is he the rumoured Accounting student who started this because he got dumped and believed that love wasn't real?" 

Soyou snorted. "Yeah, he's the one. Except he wasn't dumped, just painfully ignored and left on read. Though he started this club because of his cat instead of his unrequited love." 

Hyungwon arched an eyebrow. "His cat?" 

"Yup. And don't ask me why. You might be in no rush but I have a class soon and even if I don't have anything going on, I still won't delve deeper into the reasons. It's too stupid for me to tell it again." Soyou said. 

"Is that why this club is so shady and keeps getting tangled up in rumours?" 

"Yes. And no. The rumours just spiral out of nowhere. The club I do prefer for it to be small and closed but people still manage to find it out somehow and keep signing up for it." Soyou sighed. "You people are losers." 

"You can't say that to someone who is heartbroken." 

"I can and I will. None of you would be heartbroken if you weren't a coward or decide to move on." 

"Some of us don't have it perfect like you noona," Hyungwon said. 

"You think I have it perfect with all my shit together but no I don't," Soyou said. "I should really leave now. The next club meeting would probably be in a few days. I'll see you around!" 

Soyou left, waving goodbye as she ran to her next class. Hyungwon waved back, sighing as he headed on the other side back to his dorm. 

So there were a few things to note about Hyungwon; aside from the fact that he had joined the DNYL club for three weeks now. He loved to sleep, he used to own a pet turtle that he named Sloth and used to be a child actor. Sitting here in the cafeteria, Kihyun and Changkyun looked at him with much intent, asking him where he had been the past few days after classes, Hyungwon understood now why he never continued his career as an actor because he was an absolutely, terrible liar.

"So you were just chilling in your dorm? You didn't go anywhere?" Kihyun asked him, eyes staring right at him. 

Hyungwon hummed, trying to not look away. "Yup. Just chilling in my dorm." 

"Really?" Changkyun asked, his voice going a tone higher. "Hadn't been anywhere? The library? Trying out new coffee at any cafés? Attend a club meeting?" 

Hyungwon groaned. He was about to break. "What do you two want from me?" 

"I knew it!" Changkyun exclaimed. "You're a club member of DNYL now, aren't you?" 

"No, I'm not." 

"Hyungwon, everyone at this table including yourself knows that you're a terrible liar. Just say you're a DNYL club member and finish your sandwich." 

"Fine, I am. And what about it?" 

Kihyun sighed in relief. "Good lord, finally you're taking that step forward to move on from Minhyuk," 

"The two of you act as if I'm at the brink of death if I didn't move on from Minhyuk," Hyungwon pointed out, rolling his eyes. 

"Because you do act as if you're at the brink of death ever since Minhyuk started dating other people," Kihyun retorted, pointing his fork at Hyungwon. "Hyungwon, I've known you since we were 10, I've seen you fall for Minhyuk ever since we befriended him in high school when we were 16, and not once since then have you ever stopped being in love with him," 

Hyungwon made an incoherent noise before Kihyun continued, "You're literally the worst when it came to moving on. Remember that pet lizard you had when we were 11 that died when we went to camp? It took you a year – a year! – Hyungwon for you to accept the fact that a lizard that you picked up from the backyard of your house had died." 

"Hey, Lizzy meant a lot to me!" 

"It's only a green house lizard, Hyungwon. Lizzy wasn't worth the one week of tears." 

Hyungwon sighed. "Fine, but what does Lizzy have to do with me, Minhyuk and moving on?" 

"Because you can't move on." Kihyun stressed out. "It takes you a long time to finally forget and move forward in your life. It's been months, years even, Hyungwon. You can't wait for Minhyuk forever," 

"It's true, hyung." Changkyun chimed in. "Perhaps I've only known you in these few years in college. But even I can tell you're not the type to move on easily." 

"We love you, Hyungwon and we don't want to see you hurting like this. I know Minhyuk is your first love or whatever but I think this time, Minhyuk has finally found the one." Kihyun said. 

Hyungwon looked at his childhood best friend, eyes filled with pain. 

"And I know that he's an asshole. Changkyun and I don't like him either as much as he dislikes us but that doesn't change the fact that Minhyuk loves him. Maybe we should all accept that fact, especially you." 

There was a short silence. Hyungwon tapped his fingers on the table, eyes shifting between Changkyun and Kihyun. Changkyun reached out a hand to place it over Hyungwon's hand. 

"We love you, hyung. But we know we can't help you erase the pain of heartbreak permanently. Maybe going to the club will help. Meeting new people, finally doing something else you could enjoy, perhaps you'll lose the feelings you had for Minhyuk." Changkyun reasoned. 

"Think of it as a rehab, but for the heartbrokens," Kihyun joked. 

"It's a cool club you know," Hyungwon said, earning him genuine smiles from his two friends. "I know at least I'll have fun in there," 

"That's the spirit!" Changkyun cheered. "Maybe you'll find cuter guys at the club," 

Hyungwon laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe." 

Hyungwon liked to think that he lived a fairly simple life. He was born a healthy baby to loving parents. Grew up in his childhood home built out of love. Went to school and became friends with Kihyun who initially he fought with over crayons and chocolate milk. Finished elementary and went higher in his education level. In the last year of his middle school, he realized that he was more interested in men than women and was actually fine with that. He didn't freak out or anything until the day he met Minhyuk on his second week as a high schooler. 

He went with his life normally even back then. He didn't let his feelings slip out as he and Minhyuk bonded over their friendship. Years later, it was still the same only with Hyungwon bearing too much of a heartache. Yet he still thought he lived a fairly simple life. 

That was, before he started yelling at one of the club members over a game of Monopoly. To be fair, Hyungwon was sure Jisoo was cheating. 

"This is whack! Weren't you broke like a minute ago? How the fuck did you just robbed 1500K from me?" Hyungwon fumed, handing over the artificial bills to the Korean-American. 

Jisoo laughed, happily taking his cash. "You forgot that I own all these properties," 

"It's impossible that you got richer after a round," Hyungwon mumbled to himself.

Jinyoung chuckled. "Give it up, Hyungwon and let the guy have his money," 

"It was mine before it is his," 

"But it's now mine," Jisoo pointed out, smug as he fanned the printed papers in front of Hyungwon. 

"I hate you," 

"You know what they say," Myungjun said. "Never play Monopoly with a Business student," 

"And never play Scrabble with an English major," Jinyoung replied, shuddering. 

Jisoo snorted. "What? You've experienced that?" 

"Yeah. One of my roommates brought in his friend for game night. Let's just say the Scrabble board had never looked so crowded," 

"I suck at Scrabble," Hyungwon said, shaking his head. 

"Well I don't, so maybe we can play that next," Jisoo suggested. 

"Unfair, you grew up in America, we're no match for you!" Myungjun whined, throwing a handful of hotels at Jisoo.

Jisoo managed out a laugh as Jinyoung snickered and Hyungwon watched them in amusement. 

One month. One month was all it took for Hyungwon to be comfortable in his skin in the DNYL club. Truthfully, Hyungwon had expected for it to be longer. Had expected himself to bail the next moment someone mentioned DNYL club. But he didn't. 

He had joined three other club meetings from the last and it worked wonders for him. He made friends, from people of other races and other courses; he got along well with them and he even managed to sit down to play board games. This was an achievement for Hyungwon, a better one than trying to move on from Minhyuk. He was always awkward at making friends but the club members were welcoming towards him and funny too which was definitely a plus point for comedy lover Chae Hyungwon. 

Hyungwon made a few more friends, more than he remembered ever making in his whole lifetime. And those friendships didn't end within the four walls of the dance studio where they have their meetings. It went beyond that, and Hyungwon honestly appreciated it. 

They didn't talk about their relationship outside of the club; didn't utter why they were here in the first place. There was no forcing anyone to tell their sob story of a love life. Everyone interacted like this was a regular club, not one for the broken-hearted.

Hyunwoo was right for the most part. Within the club, gathered around with his new found friends, it was easy to forget about Minhyuk. To forget about the feelings he bore for the male he knew half of his life. But when he stepped outside and caught sight of Minhyuk's bright smile, maybe he fell a little harder for the male. Except it wasn't as painful as it used to be. 

He learnt to accept the fact that he did love Minhyuk but made sure it stopped affecting him negatively. He took that love, placed it aside for longer and remembered to make time for himself. There was no more moping around, no more waiting and wondering if there was a possibility for him and Minhyuk. And he was fine with that.

"Can we end this already, I think we've been at it for hours," Jisoo bemoaned, placing his Monopoly notes on the floor. 

"You only want to end this because you're already rich," Jinyoung pointed out. 

"Well, duh." Jisoo replied. "That, and I'm starving," 

"Same," Hyungwon said, placing down his property cards in the middle of the board. "Ramen sounds so good right now," 

"Oh, do you guys know that wicked place outside campus? We should go there, best ramen, no lie," Jinyoung said. 

"You're friends with Hyunwoo and he's like the biggest food fighter I know on campus, so I trust you when you say it's the best ramen place." Myungjun answered. 

"So are we going?" Jisoo asked excitedly. No verbal answers were given as they cleaned up the board game to place it back in the cabinet. 

"Can we please drive there? My legs are kinda sore from sitting for too long," Hyungwon groaned. 

"That's why you gotta walk, whiny ass. You have long legs, appreciate and use them," Myungjun huffed as he pulled Hyungwon up by the arms. 

"Think you just pissed off the tiny community," 

"I'm not tiny! You all are just ridiculously tall!" 

"Alright, alright, let's get to that ramen place before Myungjun breaks your shin, Jinyoung." 

They stumbled out of the dance studio and headed towards where the ramen place was, weaving through the campus area. The crowd around this time wasn't as packed as it was in early mornings or late afternoon. There were less people walking around the campus but it didn't mean the passerbys wouldn't turn around to catch the four male walking through campus. 

Hyungwon always knew he was popular, the looks, height and the short modelling career he had in freshman year was what attracted everyone on campus. But the other three males with him were no less popular. Jinyoung was practically a crowd attraction with his soft, good looks, Jisoo with his charming and polite manners, while Myungjun, a burst of happy vitamin with the brightest smile. The four of them walking like this on campus kind of felt like a Boys Over Flowers shoot. 

Except, well, they weren't chasing after a love interest, instead avoiding love all together. 

They made small talks on their way to the ramen place, falling into casual conversation of what they had been up to. Hyungwon really wasn't expecting much when he entered the ramen shop. Perhaps get a good slurp of ramen then head back to his dorm to call it a day. So when he walked into the ramen shop, laughing about a joke Jisoo made, he didn't prepare himself to see Minhyuk sitting there with his boyfriend. 

His eyes lingered on Minhyuk for a while. Long enough for Minhyuk to feel the eyes on him and look up, their gaze locking. 

Hyungwon quickly looked away, feeling as if he was scorched by fire. His first instinct was to run. To turn around, sprint and never look back. But he was hungry and he knew he would probably be too lazy to boil ramen back in his dorm. Moreover, Hyungwon would be damned if he let Minhyuk – of all people – to ruin his time with his friends. 

So instead he walked towards the back of the shop, at the furthest corner and sat facing away from Minhyuk. Just so he wouldn't see and wouldn't know what the other was doing. 

The others followed him wordlessly, seemingly oblivious to the little crisis Hyungwon – almost – faced a few seconds ago. They placed their order, continuing the conversation they had during the walk as they waited for their meals. Hyungwon resisted the urge to turn around and look at Minhyuk for every minute. 

"Are you okay, Hyungwon?" Jisoo asked, looking at him. 

Hyungwon blinked back, owlishly. Their meal came around, the waiter placing it on the table. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." 

"That's good, then." Jisoo said, but he looked at Hyungwon like he knew something the others didn't but stayed silent for the sake of Hyungwon. 

Jinyoung's phone lit up, the other picking up to check his new notification. He groaned slightly and they turned to look at him. 

"What's up?" Myungjun asked, beef slice halfway inside his mouth. 

"A roommate wants to do another party night next week. To celebrate the end of semester, he says," He replied. 

"And you're holding one?" 

"Are you forgetting that he's roommates with Jackson? And their friend circle hosts the best parties on campus?" Myungjun replied, looking at Jisoo. 

Jinyoung chuckled. "Yeah, we do host the best parties huh." 

"So are you hosting one next week?" Hyungwon asked, curious.

"It's the end of semester," Jinyoung shrugged his shoulder as he typed with one hand. "Might as well. You're all invited, of course," 

"Neat. Finally can put that leather jeans I thrifted to use," 

"Sounds fun, I'll ask some friends to tag along if that's okay?" 

Hyungwon pondered for a while, tuning out their conversation. A college party. He wasn't really much of a party person. But it was the end of semester next week and it would be bland to just end it like that and head home for the break. 

"You're coming right, Hyungwon?" Myungjun asked, excited at the prospect of a party. 

Hyungwon shrugged his shoulder as he picked up his chopsticks. "Yeah, I'll crash," 

They fell into another topic of conversation with the party in mind as they finished up their meal. When they head over to pay, Hyungwon finally noticed the empty table where Minhyuk had been earlier. He realized he didn't think about Minhyuk for the most part of his meal. 

Hyungwon plopped down on his bed in the dorm room. The ceiling fan made whirring noises above him as Hyungwon stared at it. He had packed his things to bring home the day after tomorrow. Everything was packed and done. He had finished up his classes today and all he had to do now was wait for the day to come for him to head back to his hometown. 

Until he realized he had to attend a party tonight. He had forgotten about the party Jinyoung and his roommates were hosting, too caught up with his classes and assignments. 

He should've realized it earlier when he had hold off a day to go home. Everyone had decided to leave campus later just to attend Jinyoung's party. It was the most sought after event of the semester, there was no way anyone would miss it. Hyungwon sighed, debating whether he wanted to attend the party or not. 

He would bail. No one would notice. He knew Kihyun and Changkyun had plans to join the party crowd that night but they didn't ask if Hyungwon was joining, knowing he wasn't much of a party person. But he also knew staying in his dorm while a party was being hosted just a short walk out of campus was not the ideal way to spend his night.

Deciding that it was best for him to go, Hyungwon hopped out of his bed to change. 

There weren't many party outfits in his closet. Hyungwon lived life in minimalistic fashion, hence explaining his mainly bland attire. But Hyungwon learnt in an early age that what he lacked in clothing, he made up with his handsome face. Thus, he put on a hastily combined outfit; ripped jeans and a tee with graffiti design, and just because he felt like it, a little smoky make-up to enunciate his looks. It wasn't much but it was definitely more than his usual. Hyungwon picked up his phone, wallet and keys before heading out to the party. 

Jinyoung lived in a large house with 6 other of his friends. It was an old bungalow a short walk away from campus. The area around it was mainly bare, meaning that their nearest neighbours were still a distance away. It wasn't everyone's ideal residential area but it was definitely made for the abundance of parties Jinyoung and his housemates hosted. 

Hyungwon decided to walk there, knowing he wouldn't be enjoying any fresh air when he reached the house. When he arrived, the house was already packed with people. He wasn't surprised honestly. A few people from the DNYL club were there, courtesy of Jinyoung's invite. His housemates were also acquainted with almost everyone on campus, so to see this much people at the party, was actually underwhelming than their usual crowd as Hyungwon had heard. 

"Hyungwon, you came!" Jisoo greeted him when he saw Hyungwon arriving at the doorstep. Hyungwon smiled at him as they settled for a brief hug. "Jinyoung's inside. I think they called some band to play. I would join you, but my friend is waiting," 

"Oh it's fine. I'll just go in and see if I know anybody," Hyungwon replied. 

"Neat. Have fun! I think Hyunwoo is inside too," Hyungwon left Jisoo to his own devices with a nod as he entered the house. 

There were a lot of people inside, crowding in the barely there spaces of the living room. A live band was playing in the middle of it, everyone cheering loudly around them. Hyungwon looked at the scene before him, amused. He came here certainly expecting a party, but not expecting a whole live session. No wonder everyone liked going to Jinyoung and his housemate's parties. 

He didn't get further into the house when a hand patted his shoulders. He turned around, a look of surprise painting his face and the other when he saw Kihyun. 

"Hyungwon? That's really you?" Kihyun asked him, yelling so his voice didn't drown out with the cheers of the crowd. 

"Uh, yeah? Just you, Kihyun?" Hyungwon replied to him. 

"No, was with Changkyun," Kihyun frowned before he dragged him by the arms to the kitchen where there were fewer people and lesser noises. He had to hold onto Kihyun's waist to keep himself upright as Kihyun towered over him. "What are you doing here? You're not a party fan." 

Hyungwon snorted. "It's my third year in college, Kihyun, don't want to waste it away. Staying in the dorms felt boring so I decided to crash. Jinyoung invited me, is that wrong?" 

"No. Just unexpected." Kihyun mumbled, looking at him. Then, as if he realized something, a look of recognition passed by his face. He smiled, "I'm relieved." 

Hyungwon arched an eyebrow at this. He didn't get to ask what Kihyun had meant by that as the other's eyes flickered behind him. His smile faltered and a look of conflict took over. Hyungwon wanted to turn around to see, wondering what Kihyun was worried about. The other's nails dug through Hyungwon's thin arm, earning him a whine from Hyungwon. 

"'Hyun," Hyungwon said. Kihyun looked up at him in question, as he saw the pain in Hyungwon's eyes he looked down at where he held the other. 

"Oh, shit, sorry," Kihyun mumbled, loosening his hold and sliding down Hyungwon's arm, lightly tugging at his wrist. 

"It's okay," Hyungwon whispered assuringly at the other as he smoothed out the pain with his hand. He turned around to see what Kihyun was looking at, his time frozen as their eyes locked. 

Minhyuk was standing there, like a deer caught in the headlights. He was wearing black leather jeans and a fluffy blue cardigan buttoned and tucked in, but nothing else underneath it. His face had full-on makeup with glitter all over. It was a very Minhyuk-type of look and maybe Hyungwon's heart skipped a beat. 

"Hyungwon? I didn't know you were coming," Minhyuk asked, eyes flickering between him and Kihyun. 

He should've seen this coming. Minhyuk, the extrovert, the one who knew everyone and anybody. Of course he would be at the party. He was probably friends with one of Jinyoung's housemates. 

"Oh, uh, yeah, just decided to crash." Hyungwon mumbled, not really looking him in the eyes. 

"Minhyuk? Where are you? I thought you were getting a drink," Minhyuk's boyfriend came into the kitchen. Their eyes locked and a look of disgust painted his face, making Hyungwon's blood boil. "Oh. Hey there," 

"I got us the drinks," Minhyuk whispered to his boyfriend, voice barely audible. 

"Hm. Let's go," He said to Minhyuk, eyes glancing down at Hyungwon and Kihyun. "Oh, didn't know you two were dating. Congrats," 

Hyungwon blinked his eyes. Minhyuk looked at them, his eyes flickering downwards as well. Hyungwon looked as well, seeing Kihyun's hand loosely wrapped around his wrist as the other. Their position wasn't ideal either, as Hyungwon was mainly shielding Kihyun's body. Yet he didn't remove the hand nor fixed his position and neither did Kihyun. 

"Well, come on babe. Don't want to disturb them making out, do we?" His boyfriend said, dragging Minhyuk away by the hand, his eyes never left them as his body was dragged away. 

"Funny guy. He knows we don't vibe that way right?" Kihyun told him. 

"He's an idiot." Hyungwon replied, turning towards him. "Are you okay though? Sorry to be your boyfriend of the night. I'm sure your crush will be devastated," 

"Who?" Kihyun asked.

"Yoongi from Music Department?" He watched as Kihyun's face flushed red and smiled in amusement. 

"Yoongi doesn't have a crush on me!" Kihyun hissed, hitting him on the chest. 

Hyungwon laughed. "But you sure have. Maybe you should join me at DNYL." 

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not as hopeless as you," Kihyun retorted. "Are you okay for the night though? Seeing him again-" 

"It's fine. It doesn't affect me that much. And seeing him with his asshole boyfriend kinda killed my mood to go anywhere near him. Can I hang with you though? I'll probably slip away if I see some of my friends, but I am your boyfriend of the night," Hyungwon joked. 

Kihyun rolled his eyes. "Well, having you as my boyfriend of the night is seemingly better than having Changkyun," 

Hyungwon laughed as he was dragged out of the kitchen by Kihyun, their hands loosely intertwined. God bless Yoo Kihyun, his best friend and the only one he could count on at tonight's party. And Hyungwon genuinely had fun, more fun than he imagined to be. So far gone into the alcohol and music that he never noticed a pair of eyes on him.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty! The car isn't going to drive itself to bring us to Gwangju," Hyungwon groaned as Kihyun yanked the blanket away from him. 

He curled up on himself on the bed. "Then learn to drive a car," 

"It's your turn to drive us home, shithead. And you're the only one with a car," Kihyun reminded him, trying to pull him out of bed. 

"Can we go home by train instead? A bus, maybe? I'm so tired," 

"You didn't even do anything yesterday! Why are you so tired? Get up and let's get going," 

After a lot of pushing, pulling, grunting and Kihyun hitting him repeatedly with a pillow, Hyungwon finally got out of bed. He took a shower and put on a simple outfit as Kihyun waited for him on his bed. They head out, Hyungwon making sure he didn't leave anything on while he was away for a week. They made mindless conversation as they walked to the parking lot where Hyungwon's car was parked. 

It was an old Camry his dad gave to him after he got his driving license and was preparing to leave for college. The same old Camry that had brought him, Kihyun – and previously, Minhyuk – to and fro their hometown and their college. 

"Hyungwon, actually, I have something to tell you," 

"Huh?" Hyungwon looked up as he closed the trunk of his car. 

Kihyun fidgeted as he hesitated to tell him. "Actually, Minhyuk called me and asked if we could give him a ride home too," 

"What?" Hyungwon asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "I thought he was going on his own,"

"He told me before this that he already had plans for the break but yesterday he called me and I don't know something might have happened," Kihyun said. There was a short silence between them and Kihyun sighed. "I'll tell him if you don't want to, I'm sure-" 

"It's fine," Hyungwon answered, entering the car with Kihyun following after him. "We'll pick him up at his apartment, right?" 

"Hyungwon, if you don't feel comfortable-"

"It's just a roughly four hours ride to Gwangju with my ex-crush or whatever it is, it's not that suffocating," Hyungwon mumbled, pulling out of the parking space. "It's fine, Kihyun. He's still my friend, you know? I'm not gonna treat him any different now just because I'm trying to move on," 

"Fine." Kihyun voiced out, putting on his seatbelt and crossing his arm over it. "But just a reminder, I did not force you into this," 

Kihyun didn't force him to pick up Minhyuk and Hyungwon certainly wished he wasn't so stubborn to actually go and pick up Minhyuk. It was awkward between the three of them, sitting in the cramped space of his Camry and just, not talking to each other. Rides back to Gwangju were usually filled with fun and laughter and singing loudly to one of their playlist. But today it was just silence, unspoken words and doing their own thing. 

He had picked up Minhyuk at his apartment, the other smiling gratefully at the both of them for letting him join them at the very last minute. They did a little, short catching up before everything turned into awkward silence. 

Minhyuk had been on his phone since then and Kihyun ended up reading a book he brought with him. Hyungwon had been diligently driving, head bopping to the few songs playing on the radio. The corner of his eyes caught sight of Kihyun's head swaying to the side, the book in his hand slowly losing grip. 

"Hyun, put that book aside, you're falling asleep," Hyungwon told him. The other merely hummed, not really doing as told. 

"Kihyun," Hyungwon called out again, removing the book with one hand as the other steered the wheel. 

"Yeah, yeah doing so." Kihyun mumbled, taking the book from Hyungwon's hand and putting it back inside his backpack. "Ugh, I'm kind of hungry though." 

"You want me to stop?" Hyungwon asked. 

"Are we far?" Kihyun said, looking outside. 

"Around another hour maybe, if the traffic isn't bad," 

"Hm, then let me sleep it away. I can stand another hour," 

"Don't starve yourself," 

"I'm not. I ate before we left. 'S fine," Kihyun slurred out as he made himself comfortable to nap inside the car. 

Hyungwon sighed but he didn't push it. He looked through the rear-mirror, catching Minhyuk's eyes on him. "You, Minhyuk? Hungry?" 

Minhyuk gave him a small smile as he shook his head. "No, I'm fine," 

"Okay then," Hyungwon said as he continued another hour of drive back to Gwangju. 

Hyungwon had not seen or heard from Minhyuk ever since he dropped him off at his house. It had been a few days now and Hyungwon was genuinely concerned that the other was murdered or something. But he saw videos of Minhyuk on his Instagram stories so he knew that the other was actually doing fine. 

It was weird, Hyungwon admitted. He didn't think he would be this detached from Minhyuk, not even as badly as this when the other was dating his boyfriend. At least, in the safe space of Gwangju, back in their little hometown, they would try to reach out to one another. 

Him, Kihyun and Minhyuk never really had time to spend with each other while in college so being back in Gwangju during semester break was the prime time for them to gather and fool around. Minhyuk lived in a different residential than him and Kihyun but that didn't stop them from hanging out at the streets of Gwangju. Though, during this few days, Minhyuk hadn't once reach out to them. Kihyun hadn't bother asking him to join his and Hyungwon's little hang out in consideration of Hyungwon, while Hyungwon just didn't know how to deal with the awkward air between them. 

Thus, Hyungwon guessed it was best for him and Minhyuk to keep their distance anyways. It was great news to Minhyuk's boyfriend if it concerned Hyungwon. 

"Hyungwon!" He heard his mother called for him downstairs. 

He headed over to his door, opening it to call back to his mother. "What is it, mom?" 

"Minhyuk is here. You want to come down?" 

Minhyuk is here? Hyungwon thought. But why?

"Oh, he's heading upstairs. I'll send refreshments to your room, alright?" He heard his mother say, not getting a chance to answer her previous question. 

He could hear his mother ushering Minhyuk to head upstairs and telling him not to worry about refreshments. Hyungwon panicked. What in the world was Minhyuk doing here? The other had gone radio silence for a few days and now he just showed up? In Hyungwon's house? 

Ignoring the internal panicking he was having, Hyungwon hastily cleaned up his room. He shoved in the strewn around clothes somewhere and covered his bed in his bedsheets. Before he knew it, someone was knocking on his door. He looked to see, not anymore surprised to see Minhyuk beyond it. 

"Hi," Minhyuk mumbled shyly, smiling as he looked at Hyungwon. 

"Hey, uh, come in. I guess?" Hyungwon said, gesturing for the other to come in. 

Minhyuk opened the door and entered. Closing the door with a click as he stepped inside. 

"You can, uh, sit anywhere," 

Anywhere ended up being Hyungwon's bed and he internally sighed. He decided to sit on his spinning desk chair, making sure it was quite a distance away from Minhyuk but also not too far to be polite. He stared at the other, wondering why the hell was Minhyuk doing in his room. 

"So, what have you been up to?" Minhyuk asked, kicking his legs. 

"Nothing. Nothing, actually." Hyungwon replied. 

"Oh. That's a bland break?" 

"Always have been," 

Minhyuk hummed. There was a pregnant pause. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" 

"Tell you what?" Hyungwon asked, confused. What was there to tell? It wasn't like his life had much of an update saved for DNYL and his new friends, but Hyungwon wasn't going to let Minhyuk on in that secret. 

"You and Kihyun?" 

"What about us?" Hyungwon frowned. He blinked, and then he realized. "You think we're dating?" 

"Congrats!" Minhyuk exclaimed.

"We're not." Hyungwon deadpanned.

"You're not?" 

"Minhyuk, it's me and Kihyun. You know how that ended up last time," Hyungwon said. 

Kihyun and him had dated before. A long, long time ago, early in their high school years. Minhyuk had only known them briefly for a few months then. But the puppy love relationship with Kihyun didn't last long, maybe a month at most. Both of them decided that they weren't compatible with each other as boyfriends and were best together as friends. So they ended things and moved on with their friendship. It was way better than the awkward intimacy they had while in a relationship. 

"Yeah, and I thought- I thought you guys decided to try it again. Now that you're older and more mature," Minhyuk retorted. 

Hyungwon snorted. "No. No, Minhyuk. Kihyun has other people he likes and me, I- don't really have plans to be in a relationship at the moment," 

"Oh. I- well, sorry for assuming then." Minhyuk said, flustered. 

"It's fine, it's fine," 

"You're not looking to be in a relationship?" 

"I'm not rushing into it," Hyungwon clarified. "With time, I'm sure I'll find someone," 

Minhyuk chuckled as he stood up, walking around his room. "Funny, because everyone always sought after you." 

"No, they're not," 

"It's because you're not looking, Hyungwon." Minhyuk said, looking at him. "At campus, at parties, everyone had their eyes on you. Everyone want to be yours," 

"And so? No one has ever made their move to be mine," Hyungwon retorted. And he hoped no one made that move soon enough. Hyungwon wanted to make sure his feelings towards Minhyuk had become non-existent before he started opening up his heart for someone else. He needed to love them unconditionally, and not with Minhyuk stuck to the back of his mind. 

"If they made that move? If they say they like you? Would you accept that?" Minhyuk asked and suddenly he was crowded in Hyungwon's space, the other not realizing when Minhyuk had gotten nearer. 

"If they ask for a date? If they want to date you? Would you agree to it?" 

Hyungwon looked at Minhyuk, his eyes glassy and almost unfocused. He leaned closer to Hyungwon and he could smell the faint scent of alcohol from Minhyuk's breath. "Minhyuk, are you drunk?" 

"Tipsy, maybe. Had a few glasses of soju back at home," He giggled. "You didn't answer me," 

"Answer what?" Hyungwon asked. 

"Would you date someone who would bore their heart to you?" Minhyuk whispered, getting closer as he was almost climbing into Hyungwon's lap. "Would you let them kiss you?" 

They were so close. Minhyuk had both his hands on each side of the armrest, his arms caging Hyungwon in. Their lips were only a breath apart. And it was so close, just a small step to get a kiss from Minhyuk. He could lean in, pressed his lips onto Minhyuk, finally tasting the lips he had been thinking about for years. Minhyuk reached out his hand to cup at Hyungwon's neck and he immediately stopped it by holding it with his own hand. 

"Minhyuk, stop. This is wrong," Hyungwon said, stern. 

"Why? Why would it be wrong? It's just a kiss,"

"This is cheating, Minhyuk." 

"But you're not dating anyone?" 

"Not me, it's you. You have a boyfriend, Minhyuk. This is- this is wrong, we can't-" 

"We broke up." 

"What?" Hyungwon's eyes shot up at him. The other looked at him, eyes stone cold. 

"I broke up with my boyfriend at Mark's party." Minhyuk said. 

"Who's Mark?" Hyungwon asked. 

"One of Jackson's housemates, one of the other few hosts of that end of semester party last week. He invited me to his party, we're acquaintances. My boyfriend and I broke up there, at their house. There was a lot of screaming but it was all drowned out by the party noises," Minhyuk chuckled dryly. 

Hyungwon let those words processed inside his mind. They broke up. Just shortly before Hyungwon had driven Minhyuk and Kihyun back home. He felt relief flooding in. That asshole has been gotten rid of. He was no longer controlling Minhyuk. Minhyuk was free! Then a slight hope bubbled inside of him. Minhyuk was single now. That meant Hyungwon finally had a chance with the other, after so long. 

And just as quickly, that flicker of hope died down as he remembered what Minhyuk was attempting on him a few moments ago. 

"So you think I can be your fucking rebound?" Hyungwon hissed harshly, Minhyuk flinching away. 

"Wait- Hyungwon, I didn't mean this like that-" Minhyuk said. 

"Then what the fuck did you mean, Minhyuk?" Hyungwon yelled frustratedly at him. "You were so detached from me when you were dating. Always busy with your asshole boyfriend. Then you went radio silent from me and Kihyun for days? And suddenly you show up in my house, in my room, drunk and trying to take advantage of me?" 

"No, Hyungwon this is not it," Minhyuk hushed quickly, tears forming in his eyes. 

"Well, it surely looked like it!" Hyungwon grunted, pushing Minhyuk away. "I'm not your fucking rebound, Lee Minhyuk. Not your puppet that you can show off to your ex-boyfriend to show that you can fucking move on! I'm your best friend. And even while you were prioritising your boyfriend, I had never once thought of you as lesser than my best friend. But here you are, trying to make a move on me just so you could prove a point to an asshole," 

"Hyungwon, please-" 

"Get out of my fucking room, Lee Minhyuk. I don't want to see your face and for fuck's sake, maybe not now and maybe not ever. I trusted you," 

"Hyungwon-" 

"Out!" Hyungwon shouted, pointing at his closed door. "And don't show up anymore," 

Minhyuk hesitantly walked over to the door. He opened the door, pausing as he whispered, "I'm sorry. You don't have to pick me up when the break's over." 

"I don't even plan to," Hyungwon hissed. Minhyuk left the room and he could hear the short conversation between Minhyuk and his mother. 

"Hyungwon? Why did Minhyuk leave so early? Did something happen?" He walked over and closed the door, locking it with a click. 

"Hyungwon?" His mother knocked on the door. "Hyungwon honey? Is everything alright?" 

"Yeah mom. 'M tired, is it okay if you leave me alone?" 

"Okay, yeah. Tell me if you need anything." He heard his mother's retreating footsteps and sighed.

He walked over to his bed, plopping down on it roughly. He furiously rubbed at his face, frustration, disappointment and anger mixing into one until he was left with a bitter feeling. He left his family home that same week, not even bothering to inform Kihyun as he drowned himself in his feelings.

Hyungwon spent the rest of his break in pure isolation, only getting up to order take out or simply boiling the instant ramen in his room. He ignored the messages and missed calls from his friends. He sent a short text to Kihyun when he arrived back at the dorm to inform Kihyun that he wouldn't pick him up. The other had been furious and confused, texting him a long paragraph about how he should've informed him sooner. It was later followed with an 'are you okay?' text and Hyungwon kept his phone on silent since then.

He was lucky the college dorms were all one occupant rooms. He didn't share his dorm room with anyone which meant he had the luxury to drown in his feelings on his own without anyone bothering him, shut off to the world. 

Which he knew in every level was concerning to his mental health and wellbeing. But at this point Hyungwon didn't really care. He wished classes would start soon so he could bury himself in his assignments, overworking himself to the bones to the point that he wouldn't have to think about what happened anymore. It was an unhealthy habit yet he learnt was his only suitable way of coping. 

Just like that, his semester break was spent wasting away in his dorm room. He had plans earlier on; he was thinking of spending more time with his family and when he got back maybe he could hang out with Kihyun and Changkyun, go for a short trip with his club member friends. But those plans were thrown out the window and Hyungwon didn't know if he should blame Minhyuk for what happened or blame himself for being quick to succumb into his feelings. Maybe a little bit of both. 

When semester break was over, Hyungwon dragged himself out of his room to attend classes. He kept mostly to himself, going off-radar from people he knew, wore hoodies and baggy clothes that shield him away. He avoided his friends, only going out to attend his classes then going straight back to his room. He didn't even attend any more club meetings, ignoring the emails in his inbox. He spent the first few weeks alone, preferring for it to stay that way until the end of semester and he finally graduated and maybe then he would stop the pity party he hosted for himself.

But Hyungwon seldom forgot that he had friends; friends who cared so much for him that they would do anything just to make sure he was okay. Friends who knew about his worst and his best. Friends who managed to corner him at the dorm buildings just as he was heading back, two weeks after successfully avoiding them. 

"Shit," Hyungwon cursed under his breath. 

"Shit, indeed, Chae Hyungwon," Kihyun said, crossing his arm over his chest. Soyou and Changkyun stood on each side of him, making sure that there was no way of escaping. 

"Now hyung, I don't want to sound rash, but, is there any fucking reason for you to be avoiding us?" Changkyun asked him. 

"And don't even say you don't!" Soyou hissed before Hyungwon could get the words out. "You haven't been attending any club meetings even though I sent you those emails. Granted, Ten sent those out but I still proofread them." 

Kihyun rolled his eyes at the elder woman. He looked at Hyungwon, eyes concerned and full of care towards him. "Hyungwon, what's wrong?" 

And that voice, the worry dripping in it, brought Hyungwon 7, 8 years back. When he did something stupid and shut himself off to the world and Kihyun would step forward. Kihyun, his best friend for years who knew his best traits, his every little action. Who despite the one Hyungwon argued with the most, was the one he would seek in the darkest times, the one who would drop everything in an instant just to make sure that he was okay and vice versa. Who could tear down the walls he tried to build for weeks without much of a resistance. 

Hyungwon choked up, and then the tears poured out of his eyes. Kihyun's eyes widened in surprise but he never got to react as Hyungwon leaned forward and rested his head on Kihyun's shoulder. 

"Feelings suck," Hyungwon whispered in his ears. 

"Oh, Hyungwon," Kihyun reached out to cradle his head, hugging him loosely. He smelt faintly of the laundry detergent his family used back home, the same scent that had never changed in the years that Hyungwon knew him and instantly, he felt safe again in the arms of his best friend. 

Hyungwon sniffled as he sat on his bed, a yellow blanket draped over his shoulders. His eyes followed as Kihyun walked around his dorm. 

Soyou and Changkyun had left earlier after Hyungwon's persistence. He assured them that it wasn't because he didn't trust them but rather, it was too much to sort out and a handful of people surrounding the issue would do no good for it. He asked for Kihyun to stay because, in a smaller scope, the issue concerned him, his other best friend – could Hyungwon really call him that anymore? – and Kihyun, who happened to be the unfortunate childhood mutual friend. So if anyone knew how to deal with it – someone who was more in tune to Hyungwon's feelings than himself – was none other than the childhood best friend of over a decade. 

Kihyun walked over to him, opening the tupperware of foods that he brought with him. He was always the better cook and getting to eat Kihyun's home-cooked meal was like a luxury to instant food-based Chae Hyungwon. 

"You should eat something," Kihyun urged him. "Have you been eating?" 

"Not hungry." He mumbled. "I eat." 

Kihyun sighed. "Well, eat more. You're skinnier than the last time I saw you. That shouldn't happen." 

"Don't wanna," Hyungwon muttered, shaking his head. 

Kihyun sighed again. He sat down at the edge of the bed, close to Hyungwon. His hand settled on top of Hyungwon's knees, barely putting pressure on it. "Hyungwon, what's going on? I thought you were doing better when we were on semester break. Did something-"

"He broke up with that asshole,"

Kihyun blinked, taking in the words. "Minhyuk?" Hyungwon nodded his head. "Oh. Um. Shouldn't that be a good thing?" 

"I'm his fucking rebound." 

"I don't think I follow?" 

Hyungwon sighed, curling against himself more. Kihyun quickly tried to coax him out again. "Hyungwon," 

"He came to my house, the day before I called you to say I'm heading back to campus early and I won't pick you up." Hyungwon started off. 

"Oh? Is that why?" 

"Yes." Hyungwon answered. "He came to my house, we talked a little. He asked me if something was going on between us and told him no. Then- then he came forward, tried to kiss me." 

"He what?" Kihyun asked, eyes widening. 

"I stopped him, reminded him he had a boyfriend then he told me they broke up that night at the party," Hyungwon said. There was a prolonged silence between then, Kihyun looked at him. 

"And then?" He whispered. 

"And then I got angry," Hyungwon answered softly. "I got mad at him, said a few mean things, kicked him out of my house. I was hurt, Kihyun. All this time, I had loved him and yet not once, not once have I ever thought to ruin his happiness. Then one day after so long of distancing himself from me to please his boyfriend, he jumped me, all drunk and heartbroken after a break-up. It was as if- as if he didn't care about what I felt. As if he was playing with my feelings." 

Hyungwon looked at the other, wetting his lips. He could feel the tears glassing his eyes again. "I know. Maybe that was wrong of me, too absorbed in my feelings. Maybe what I did was invalid and I was wrong-" 

"No." Kihyun cut him off. "No it wasn't invalid or wrong- I mean-" He sighed, trying to gather his thoughts. 

"Hyungwon, what you felt wasn't invalid. You have every right to be mad at him when you are hurt. I wasn't there to witness what happened so I can't be one to judge and you're both my best friends so I can't defend one over the other. But I've known you half my life, Hyungwon. I've seen you get hurt over and over. What Minhyuk did was out of line, he couldn't just jump on you with the excuse of him being drunk and single. He hurt you, and that's not okay." 

"So did I do the right thing by kicking him out?"

"I can't be the judge of that." Kihyun answered, final. "But I do know that you can't drown yourself in your feelings like this, Hyungwon." 

"But I don't know what else to do," Hyungwon whispered, soft and fragile as he tugged the blanket closer to himself. 

"It's acceptable if it takes you time to forgive him, if you don't want to see him anymore. But you can't let the thought of him haunting you like this," Kihyun reprimanded him. "It's unhealthy." 

Hyungwon leaned his head against his friend. "Then what do you propose I do?" 

"Move on. Forget about him if you have to. You were doing fine when you joined DNYL while he was dating. Now he broke up, so what? He hurt you, shouldn't that be a bigger drive to move on from him?" 

"I don't know, Kihyun." 

"Baby steps, Hyungwon. I'm not asking you to forget him overnight. Try doing it slowly, starting with getting yourself out from this room. Staying cooped up while burying your feelings and occupying your head with the thought of him isn't doing good for your health, Hyungwon." 

Hyungwon stayed silent as he gave Kihyun's suggestion a thought. He looked at his best friend. "Will you help me?" 

Kihyun smiled, holding his hand. "I carried you all the way home when you scraped your knee while you were looking for your toy robot, snot and tears dripping your face when we were 10. If I have to glue and paste together every little puzzle piece of you that was scrambled up, I'll take every minute and every ounce of my energy to do so." 

Hyungwon smiled at him, snuggling closer as a gesture of thanks. They stayed like that for a few quiet minutes until Hyungwon spoke up, "But you couldn't carry me all the way because I was too tall so I ended up limping back for the rest of the way." 

Kihyun roughly pushed him away and Hyungwon laughed, enjoying the annoyance seeping out of the other. Their joined hands never loosen as they pushed and pulled at each other. After a while, they finally cut it out and Hyungwon was grinning brightly. Kihyun looked at him, eyes soft and gentle like it was when they were 10 and in the playground of their neighbourhood. 

"Let's piece you back together, best friend."

The process of moving on didn't happen overnight, just like what Kihyun said. But it also didn't make progress in the span of a week. Especially when you were in love with them for so long and you had known that person for longer. 

Hyungwon started picking back up the pieces he left behind one step at a time. It took a lot of energy from him but his friends were there to help him on the way. He briefly told Changkyun and Soyou about what happened, in which both had offered to maybe kick some sense towards Minhyuk. But Hyungwon told them not to. It was better he actively avoided the other, just so he didn't spiral down the dark hole again. 

He never saw Minhyuk on campus. It was as if the other had magically disappeared in the time when everything unfolded. He took that as a good thing though, made it easier for him to heal. He wondered if Minhyuk dropped out of college, there was always that tinge of worry at the back of his mind, afterall, he was Hyungwon's best friend before he was his first love. Though that thought was always pushed away. The less he thought about Minhyuk, the easier it became for him to move on. He joined DNYL again, the club meetings became his best escapade during his trying times. 

"I haven't seen you in a while," Hyunwoo greeted him when he joined the first club meeting in weeks after the semester started. 

"Yeah, I- went through some things." Hyungwon answered. 

"Oh? Still going through them?" 

"Still plague by them." 

Hyunwoo nodded his head at this. "Is it, anything serious?" 

Hyungwon inhaled deeply. Hyunwoo always had this certain calming aura with him. It was probably what made befriending him during his first club meeting easier. It was something about the way he looked at Hyungwon with those gentle eyes that closely reminded him of Kihyun that made Hyungwon trust him enough to whisper out what happened in the bustling of the club meeting. He realized that telling others was easier than sitting alone and thinking about it. 

"Well, isn't that an asshole move," Hyunwoo commented as they exited the dance studio, the club meeting ending a few minutes ago. 

"Isn't it?" Hyungwon muttered sadly. 

"Never mind him, he doesn't deserve you." Hyunwoo told him. "And your friendship might be affected but you should know that there are others who are there for you. Me included." 

Hyungwon looked at him, surprised and awed. "Really? I mean, it's a me problem and I don't want you to rope yourself into it since you have your own problems too-" 

"Hyungwon, you're my friend." Hyunwoo cut him off. "You made the club more interesting to me since you joined the other day. I'm not going to let my friend go down the drains because of a reckless boy. I'll make sure you know there's more to life than falling in love, especially since I had to discover it myself. Now, let's go get something to eat, I'm hungry."

He tried to stop the building up of his tears. There were so many things Hyungwon was grateful for, so many people he wanted to thank. He realized that day that he might have lost a friend and his first love, but he also knew he had so many other wonderful people surrounding him.

"Oh, darn it! Why do I keep losing?" 

"We've finally found one game that Jisoo's bad at and it's an online game," Jinyoung snickered as the other grumbled under his breath. 

"Well, I'm sorry that a phone is very hard to grip at." Jisoo retorted. 

"Ew that's such an old man thing to say," Myungjun mumbled. 

Hyungwon smiled amusedly at them from his corner. He had come in a few minutes early and saw the three of them in a heated game session with a few others. They had asked him to join while waiting for the club meeting to commence but Hyungwon had gently refused, opting to take a seat beside Hyunwoo who was busy on his phone. 

There was something unsettling rattling in the pit of his stomach since earlier today. Hyungwon had no idea why he felt so as soon as he woke up. It wasn't like he had some big event happening today. He went to his classes as usual and was about to attend the club meeting. There was nothing weird suddenly crashing into his life, not since the last time it happened several weeks ago. But Hyungwon couldn't shake off the feeling and he was starting to feel restless. 

"Are you okay, Hyungwon?" Hyunwoo asked after noticing the other's discomfort. 

"Yeah, just, feeling a little bit weird," Hyungwon answered mindlessly. 

"Sick?" 

"No. No, not sick. Just having a weird feeling," 

"You can skip club meeting," 

Hyungwon shook his head, smiling at the other. "It's fine, I think I can go on another hour. Then I'll go back to my dorm and sleep it away," 

"If you say so," Hyunwoo said before Ten and Jaehyun entered the room to initiate the meeting.

They didn't get to start with the usual greeting as the door opened yet again. Hyungwon turned his head to look more out of instinct and his eyes widened when he saw who was behind the door. 

"Oops, sorry! Have you guys started?" 

"We're about to. Come on in, Minhyuk hyung. Take a seat anywhere,"

Then he panicked. What was Minhyuk doing here? He wasn't supposed to join DNYL. Granted, the club was opened to anyone and Minhyuk has every right to join whatever club he wanted to but why must it be DNYL? Why must he come in here and potentially ruin the moving on progress Hyungwon had? Why on earth was he even here for? He wasn't that heartbroken, it was just a dumb break-up with his asshole boyfriend. Minhyuk couldn't be that in love with him enough for the break-up to scar him into joining DNYL, right?

As if the universe didn't hate him enough, his eyes locked with Minhyuk and the other looked surprised. It was quickly masked into something akin to nonchalance and he glanced at the spot beside Hyungwon. And goodness, did the world hate him so much. Did he start a war in his past life or something for there to conveniently be an empty spot beside him. 

Before Hyungwon got to react though, there was a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Hyungwon, is it okay for me to sit beside you?" 

He turned to look and it was Jisoo smiling with his gentle eyes. Bless this man honestly. Hyungwon nodded his head, gesturing to the spot beside him. "Have a seat," 

Jisoo graciously plopped himself beside Hyungwon. His eyes looked at Hyungwon knowingly. And maybe Jisoo did know, maybe the whole campus knew that Hyungwon was a loser who was still barely managing to move on from his first love but at least he was trying. Perhaps it wouldn't be easy with Minhyuk in close proximity with him now that he joined the club and Hyungwon could feel the other's eyes on him. But hey, at least he was trying. 

"Hyungwon! Hyungwon wait-!" 

Hyungwon sped-walked away, ignoring the calls of his name from Minhyuk. He had slithered out of the dance practice room as soon as the club meeting ended. Hyunwoo gave him a look in which he answered with a 'he's fine'. He just needed to get away from Minhyuk as far as possible and as soon as he could. What he didn't expect was Minhyuk to notice him sneaking out and deliberately following him. 

"Hyungwon, please." He heard Minhyuk plead but he wasn't going to fall for that. 

Could Minhyuk please leave him alone? He didn't want them to cause a scene in the middle of campus, considering that perhaps half of the college population knew of their relationship – or their past one at least. Seeing him running away from Minhyuk, it was easier to deduce something happened between them. 

"Hyungwon!" And Minhyuk's voice was so close now he couldn't believe he was incapable of outrunning Minhyuk. Then again, Minhyuk did compete in track field during their high school days but it was certainly impossible for him to manage to catch up to him after years of not doing sports. 

"Hyungwon-" 

"What do you want, Minhyuk?" Hyungwon hissed turning around to face the other. 

Minhyuk halted in his step. His breathing was ragged as he stared at Hyungwon. There was no one around them so Hyungwon deemed it safe in case he lashed out at Minhyuk. At least he knew no one was there to start up rumours, not that any college kids truly care about drama, this wasn't high school anymore. 

"Stop following me. I thought I warned you," Hyungwon said, angry as he didn't let Minhyuk answer him the first time. 

"Is it about the club? I swear I didn't know I can leave if-" 

"To hell if I care, Minhyuk! You can join whatever club you want to and I won't bat a fucking eye. I'm talking now, why the fuck are you chasing after me? For fuck's sake, I told you to leave me alone!" Hyungwon wasn't one to be polite with his words, especially when he was angry but that was a whole lot of coarse words. 

"I just thought-" Minhyuk mumbled. 

"You just thought what? You're forgiven? I would want to talk to you again if you chase after me? Forget it, Minhyuk. We're not friends anymore," Hyungwon replied. 

"Hyungwon, about that day, I'm sorry-" 

"Well, save your sorrys! I don't want to hear them nor will I ever hear them." 

"Hyungwon, I promised I didn't mean it like that the other day-" 

"Goodbye, Lee Minhyuk." Hyungwon cut him off, voice stone cold and eyes stern. "And don't look for me." 

He spun around, leaving Minhyuk standing there alone as the soft drip, drip, dripping of the rain hit the ground. He didn't turn back, didn't dare to see what his body would do if he had a change of heart. Deep down, Hyungwon could feel the slow crumbling of his walls when he saw Minhyuk's pained expression before he left.

Life continued. Because it didn't matter if Hyungwon fought with Minhyuk or the other was now in close proximity with Hyungwon after the long weeks of disappearance, life went on. 

They attend club meetings as per usual. Minhyuk fit in with the rest of the members, as he always did. The members warmed up to him and Hyungwon couldn't even be annoyed because it wasn't his right to be. The others could be friends with Minhyuk regardless of what happened between him and Minhyuk, because they didn't know and if Hyungwon was being a little bit bitter about it, that was on him. 

He didn't disassociate himself from the club members. They were nice people and Hyungwon wouldn't let heartbreak ruin his chances at making friends and moving on. But he wasn't as close to them as he was before, no more playing board games before club meetings or lunch together after. 

Currently, he preferred hanging out with Hyunwoo more. Both of them sticking together in one corner of their own. Hyunwoo knew about Minhyuk but Hyungwon never stopped him from making friends with Minhyuk. But Hyunwoo rather hang out with Hyungwon. He didn't curse out Minhyuk like what Hyungwon usually did nor was he overly friendly with the other. He kept his distance while also not being rude. 

Then there was Jisoo. Truly, Hyungwon had no idea what was going on in the other's mind. After Minhyuk's addition to the club, Jisoo became closer to Hyungwon. Hyungwon had a hunch that perhaps Jisoo knew something but he was also unsure of how much the Business major knew. The other didn't hang out with Minhyuk like the rest but neither did he actively avoid him. He answered Minhyuk with gentle smiles and polite gestures – because that was just how Jisoo was as a person, polite. Yet he, much like Hyunwoo, rather stuck around Hyungwon. 

And as for Minhyuk, well, Hyungwon was glad he finally heed the warning. He made sure they were at a respectable distance, they only interacted within the club if it was absolutely necessary and nothing more than that. 

"Okay folks, in more interesting news, we'll be in charge of planning and preparations for the Campus' 110th Year!" Ten exclaimed excitedly.

"We'll do what now?" Hyungwon heard someone in front of him ask. 

Hyungwon blinked his eyes, confused. He didn't get what Ten was saying and honestly, he wasn't sure if he had actually heard it right.

Ten sighed, a hand on his hips and Hyungwon prepared himself for a long explanation. "As you all know, MX College will celebrate its 110th anniversary in a few months. As part of the student body, we're all required to participate in something for the upcoming celebration slash festival. And as usual, our club is in charge of preparation and planning." 

"We do that? I thought we're just a get high and have fun club," Someone said. 

"Well, I mean, we do but we also have to contribute to the campus. The club doesn't run on its own without a little bit of funding, you know? So we're expected to return the favour by being as active as possible in college events while being a club." 

"And we get preparations and planning? Isn't that a lot?" 

"Every club has their own list of jobs to do," Jaehyun stepped in to continue the explanation. "For example, the Photography club does flyer and brochure designs because you know, it fits their club activities. For us, we… don't really have anything that fits our club activities but because the club founders are part of the college events administrators, our club get to do the more fun part of the event," 

"Yeah, what Jaehyun said. We're gonna distribute work in the next meeting and get started. Emails would be sent as usual. That will be all for today, bye guys!" 

"Do you guys want to hit the ramen place off campus?" Jisoo asked him and Hyunwoo as they were about to leave. 

"I have a class in a few minutes, so I don't think I can make it," Hyunwoo replied. "You guys enjoy though," 

"It's fine, we'll have a meal with all three of us soon. Hyungwon? It's okay if you want to head back to rest," 

Hyungwon pondered for a while. "Nah, I'll join you. I think I had enough rest in the dorm." 

"Enjoy your meals, see you guys around!" 

"Bye Hyunwoo!" 

"Bye,"

They parted ways with Hyunwoo at the hallways and headed for the ramen shop. Hyungwon made small talks with Jisoo as they walked. It was easy conversation about what they've been up to, classes and what they thought about the upcoming celebration preparations. They took a seat at a secluded corner when they arrived at the shop, giving out their orders and patiently waiting for it to arrive. 

"Hyungwon, is it okay if I ask?" Hyungwon looked at Jisoo. He nodded his head to give permission. "It's okay if you don't want to answer. I was just curious and pieced things together but, is Minhyuk the reason you join DNYL?"

Hyungwon blinked. He tapped his fingers against the table, pondering his choices. He could tell Jisoo, it wasn't really a bad choice. He trusted the other, Jisoo wouldn't snitch on him nor would he badly judge him, right?

"Yes," Hyungwon answered in a punch of air, barely even stopping himself. 

Jisoo nodded his head. They didn't say anything more as their food arrived and they dug in. "I fell in love with my best friends, two of them." 

Hyungwon raised his head to look at him. "Jisoo, you don't have to tell me if you-" 

"I want to." Jisoo cut him off. "I trust you, Hyungwon, so let me tell you. Besides, it's unhealthy to keep it to myself for so long," 

"If you don't mind," Hyungwon relented.

"I fell in love with both of my best friends. But here's the gist," Jisoo chuckled dryly. "They're both dating each other."

"And you?" 

"I've never had the guts to tell them." Jisoo shook his head. "I tried putting my distance, tried running away, and moved to another state. Didn't really work. It was as if fate didn't want them to leave me. So I learnt to accept it, learn to accept that I can't have either of them. I ended up joining DNYL just to have a certain control over my feelings," 

"Did it work?" 

"I don't know, have any of us managed to forget our feelings?" 

Hyungwon became silent. No, the answer was no. Not him, not Hyunwoo and not even Jisoo who was practically pouring his feelings in front of Hyungwon. Did any of them even manage to have a semblance of moving on? 

"I'm not- trying to tell you what to do or how to feel but, based on what I saw between you and Minhyuk, I'm pretty sure it's some heavy matter." 

"It's complicated," Hyungwon settled on the word after deciding for a while. "I- I don't even know how to explain it to you." 

Jisoo shook his head. "You don't have to. It's between you and him. I only wanted to tell you my story, and maybe help you with yours in between my own chapters." 

"Aren't you a Business major?" 

"I did take Advanced Literature in high school," 

Hyungwon laughed. "Maybe if things don't work out with our crushes, you and I should date." 

"Maybe we should," Jisoo chuckled, then he went silent as he stirred his ramen. "I might hurt your feelings though, I don't think I could ever move on from them." 

"Yeah, I think the same goes for me," 

"We're kind of losers aren't we?" 

Hyungwon raised his glass of cola. "To the DNYL losers," 

"To getting over our feelings,"

There was an insistent ringing coming from his bedside. Hyungwon groaned as he turned away. The ringing didn't stop, not as he buried himself under the sheets and pillows. It continued to ring, loud and clear in his room until Hyungwon relented. He sat up, blinking his eyes blearily as he picked up his phone that had been ringing. He read the timing on his phone and then the caller ID, a frown taking place on his sleepy features before he answered the call. 

"Minhyuk, what the hell it's like 2AM? Why are you calling me?" 

"Um, is this Hyungwon?" 

Hyungwon paused. This wasn't Minhyuk's voice. They probably hadn't talked for so long but Hyungwon would recognise the other's husky voice over the static. He pulled the phone away to read the caller ID again. It was Minhyuk, but this wasn't him. 

"Who is this?" Hyungwon asked, the words coming off more angry than he intended. 

What if this was a prank call? Something Minhyuk and his friends planned to mock him. But there was a little voice in the back of his mind wondering, just wondering. What if Minhyuk was in danger? What if he was kidnapped and this was his kidnapper calling for ransom? 

"I'm Jooheon, um, a friend of Minhyuk's? We're at this club downtown but Minhyuk has gotten too much to drink and I'm not sure where to take him," 

Take him home then, was this another Minhyuk problem he had to deal with? Hyungwon thought. 

"I would bring him home but I live at my university's dorm and we don't allow guests after hours." 

Hyungwon sighed. "How do I know this isn't a fake call?"

"Look dude, I know you don't trust me. It's 2AM and I probably disturbed your sleep but Minhyuk's like, wasted. And you probably aren't on good terms with him based on what he just told me but granted, he was drunk so I thought it wouldn't hurt to call you." 

Hyungwon blinked his eyes, processing the words in his sleep hazed mind. Minhyuk was talking about him? 

"You know what, never mind. I'll figure something out. Sorry for disturbing-" 

"Wait," Hyungwon cut him off. He sighed. "Give me the address." 

Driving downtown at 2:30AM to a club to pick up his ex-friend was not what he had in his itinerary. But it wasn't like Hyungwon had a choice when put against Minhyuk. He admitted, he still had a soft spot for the other and knowing Minhyuk was somewhere in a club alone, he didn't think he had it in him to leave Minhyuk. So begrudgingly, Hyungwon pulled over near the club at 2:50AM, locking his car as he walked over to where the club was. 

Hyungwon texted Jooheon that he was outside the club – the other had given his number to make things easier – and waited. He wasn't going to enter a club with his bed hair and sweatpants. A few moments later, the front door opened, the booming music that was once muffled could clearly be heard across the street. 

He turned around to see who he assumed was Jooheon heaving a clearly drunk Minhyuk out. He stared at them a bit longer, pondering whether he wanted to help or not. Since he was here anyways, he might as well. He walked over to help Jooheon out. Hyungwon was no body builder, he was basically a paper doll as Kihyun liked to call him. So letting Minhyuk straddle his shoulders in his drunk glory, Hyungwon could already feel half of his body giving out. 

"Joohoney~! Are you hooking me up with someone? That's so nice of you!" Minhyuk giggled, eyes bleary. He looked at Hyungwon, pinching the other's face together. "You look a lot like that handsome young lad from DNYL. Are you going to take me home, Hyungwon clone?" 

"How much did he drink?" Hyungwon asked, looking at Jooheon. 

"I have no idea man. I wasn't even with him the whole night. I only know he was this wasted because the bartender called me. Soonyoung tried to get his address to hail a cab and bring him home but he was too wasted to answer anything." Jooheon answered. "I'll get him into your car," 

Hyungwon nodded his head as they walked over to his car. It only struck Hyungwon a few steps later that he had never heard of Jooheon and he might not be the most social person, but he was sure he had seen enough faces on campus near Minhyuk to recognize just about any of his friends. 

"How did you know Minhyuk?" 

"Huh? Oh, he worked at the art supplies shop I always go to. We only had like a few talks, I'll say we're close friends at best. Minhyuk is a friendly person. I didn't know he would come down to the club tonight," 

With much difficulty carrying Minhyuk on one side of him, Hyungwon fiddled with his car keys to unlock his car. They heaved Minhyuk into the passenger seat, the other happily curling into himself. 

"You didn't know he would come here?" Hyungwon asked, closing the door. 

"Yeah. I think I only told him in passing when I visited the store that I would be guesting," Jooheon said. 

"You don't go to MXC, do you?" 

"Oh heavens no, that place is too far from where I live. I study at Starship, a few streets down. Not really the best but it works." He replied. Hyungwon nodded his head. It explained why Jooheon didn't seem familiar to him. "I gotta go, my set starts in a few minutes." 

"Your set?" 

"Yup, I'm guesting tonight for the club. That's why I had to call you up. Sorry again, man. I would bring him myself but I don't finish until at least 5 in the morning and I can't just leave him out at the bar. The dressing room is shared with a few other people so I wouldn't trust to leave him alone or if there is any space for him to sit around," Jooheon explained. 

"That's cool. You must be famous to guest at a club,"

Jooheon shook his head. "Quick money. It works. Thanks, Hyungwon. And sorry for the trouble." 

"It's fine. I'm used to cleaning up part of his mess." Hyungwon answered, a bitter note in his voice. 

Jooheon didn't seem to notice or pretend he doesn't as he nodded his head. "I'll go now. Thanks again. If you need help or someone to DJ your party, you got my number." 

Hyungwon chuckled, nodding his head. Jooheon bid the other one last goodbye before he left. He stood there for a moment and then entered his car. He sat at the driver's seat, arms on the wheel as he took a deep breath. Hyungwon turned to his side to look and saw Minhyuk napping contently, drool dripping out the corner of his mouth. He let out a loud sigh, turning back to the front and starting the car engine. 

"Minhyuk, can you stop being a pain in the ass and let me bring you home?" Hyungwon huffed as he brought Minhyuk up his apartment. Thank the lord that Minhyuk lived in an apartment that has elevators. 

Minhyuk giggled against Hyungwon's neck, making the other shiver. "Hyungwonnie~ that's so romantic! You want to bring me home? Of course you can!" 

"For fuck's sake, why do you always manage to make my life difficult?" Hyungwon mumbled out. 

He managed to hail Minhyuk inside the elevator and out on his floor. As quietly as he could, with a drunk, giggly Minhyuk in his arms, Hyungwon dragged him to his apartment so he wouldn't disturb the other residents. He was grateful the other didn't live in the dorms like he did. Hyungwon wasn't sure how he would manage to bring Minhyuk home without a few college students throwing things at him for making a ruckus. 

"Minhyuk, where's your key?" 

"Hm? Left pocket, jeans." 

He reached out to find Mihyuk's keys, the other squirming as Hyungwon's hand dug into his pocket. At least he knew where he put his keys at. With much difficulty – because of course Minhyuk had to wear skin tight leather jeans – he managed to find the keys and unlocked the door. They pushed themself inside the apartment, Hyungwon kicking the door close behind him. He hailed Minhyuk to his bedroom – not surprised that he still remembered the apartment's floor layout – and basically threw Minhyuk onto his bed. 

He headed to the kitchen, looking for some painkillers and filling a glass of water for Minhyuk. Hyungwon walked back into the bedroom to see Minhyuk already comfortable in his bed. He didn't bother helping Minhyuk out of his clothes, he was too tired for that. Instead, he placed the painkillers and glass of water on the bedside table before turning around to leave. 

"Are you leaving already?" 

Hyungwon stopped in his tracks. "I thought you were sleeping." 

"I am, I was?" Minhyuk slurred. "But 'm gonna take a shower, it's disgusting." 

He turned around to look just in time for Minhyuk to wobble out of his bed. He walked over to make sure that Minhyuk wouldn't fall over. "Minhyuk, you're drunk." 

"And I'm gonna take shower!" 

"You're going to slip and hurt yourself in the shower," 

"It's fine, 's fine. Hyungwonnie would pick me up right?" 

"Minhyuk-" 

"Or you gonna go home and leave me. And that's fine! 's fine too. I deserve that. I deserve the hurt I receive after hurting you," 

"Minhyuk, let's not make this difficult. Just go to bed and sleep then take the painkillers in the morning," 

"Do you hate me, Hyungwonnie? Did I hurt you badly? Am I a bad person?" 

"Minhyuk, please." Hyungwon pleaded, trying to get the other back into bed. He forgot how talkative Minhyuk was when he was drunk. 

"Of course I'm a bad person!" Minhyuk giggled. "I'm a bad person! An asshole! I hurt Wonnie, he hates me now, we won't be friends anymore,"

"Why do you always make things hard for me?" Hyungwon sighed, looking at the other, finally managing to haul Minhyuk back to bed. 

"We're not friends anymore, 'Wonnie? You hate me, don't you? Hate me so much you wished we never met," Minhyuk whispered out the last part. 

He sounded so vulnerable, his eyes glassy that Hyungwon was unsure was the effect of the alcohol or if it was his tears. But it was enough for Hyungwon's heart to give out, a little crack on the walls he built so high to keep Minhyuk out. 

"No." Hyungwon whispered back. "I can never hate you that badly. I don't think I'm capable of having the slightest ounce of hate for you," 

Minhyuk's eyes widened and for a moment Hyungwon thought the other had sobered up. But instead he pushed Hyungwon aside as he staggered towards the bathroom, sheets tangled in his wake. Hyungwon sighed tiredly as he heard the sound of Minhyuk throwing up in his bathroom. He walked over, knocking at the door before peeking in. 

"Told you to sleep," Hyungwon said when he saw Minhyuk hugging his toilet bowl. Minhyuk barely managed to wave him off. 

"I'll head back now. It's getting late. The painkillers are on the bed. Are you okay with getting up on your own?" Hyungwon asked. 

"It's okay. Will manage," Minhyuk croaked out. 

Hyungwon frowned in worry but didn't push it. "Okay. I'll take my leave now," 

He walked away from the doorway and headed towards the bedroom door. His hand was on the doorknob when he heard the softest, barely audible but still there voice of Minhyuk. 

"Thank you." He had said. Hyungwon inhaled sharply. He turned the doorknob, left the place and never looked back. 

So what now? Hyungwon asked himself every day since the drunk Minhyuk incident. It has been two weeks now and truthfully, Hyungwon didn't expect anything to change really. He was the one who was angry at Minhyuk. He was the one who told Minhyuk to keep his distance. And if Minhyuk had been out of Hyungwon's sight then he was just doing as he was told. A single night's event wouldn't change the words he had spat out to Minhyuk previously. 

He probably didn't hate Minhyuk as much as he said he did before the drunk incident. But that didn't mean that he wasn't angry still, maybe a little numb after the incident. 

Still, Hyungwon didn't know why he was hoping for something. He also didn't have an idea on what he was hoping for. An apology from Minhyuk? No. The other had practically begged for forgiveness before this and Hyungwon had refused to bat an eye. A rekindle in their friendship? Possible. But he had a stubborn ego and with the way he treated Minhyuk after the semester break incident, he doubted it was easy to just jump right back into their friendship.

Then what? It didn't make sense for him to just wait around and hope for something. Especially when he wasn't sure of what he was hoping for.

"Hello there Chae. Are you listening? What are you even thinking about?" Kihyun asked, waving his hand in front of Hyungwon. 

Hyungwon blinked his eyes, snapping out of his daydream. He looked at Kihyun, said, "I think the universe hates me." 

"Considering," Changkyun said, rubbing his chin with his hand as if he owned a long beard. "Perhaps the universe does hate you." 

Kihyun frowned. "Where did that thought come from?" He asked, then turned towards Changkyun. "And where did that conclusion come from?" 

"Refer to 'broken hearted man who has a crush on his best friend finds solace in an anti-love club only for said crush to appear at the anti-love club and for what reason? Unknown.'" Changkyun explained. 

"You'll be surprised with how much love is actually involved in DNYL," Hyunwoo chimed in. 

Recently, he had taken to joining Hyungwon and his friends for a meal whenever he had the chance. Changkyun and Kihyun were more than happy to welcome Hyunwoo to their little gossiping table. Hyunwoo didn't seem to mind it either, whether he was silently listening or proudly joining into the tea spilling session. 

"Sounds fun. Do you think I should join DNYL? I mean I'm not heartbroken but I think I should join DNYL." Changkyun said. 

"The next thing we need is for the majority of this table in a heartbrokens club. Don't you have a volleyball club anyways?" Kihyun retorted. 

"It gets boring. Everyone gets so competitive it's literally throwing a ball," 

"It's sports. That's what you get for joining a sports club." 

"Shut up photography club member. I know you have it fun there with your little click-clacking." 

"Weren't we talking about why the universe hates Hyungwon?" Hyunwoo cut them off. 

Kihyun immediately turned back to look at Hyungwon. "Right, stop interrupting me, Changkyun." 

Changkyun made a little offended noise at this. Hyunwoo patted his shoulder in sympathy. 

"Why do you think the universe hates you, Hyungwon?" Kihyun asked. 

"Changkyun literally just gave you an anecdote." 

"Yeah but it doesn't really explain why." 

Hyungwon sighed, poking at his rice. "I don't know. It just, it kinda feels like the universe is toying with me, you know?" 

"It could be. But Minhyuk joining DNYL is just a mishap on Soyou noona's side. How can she just let Minhyuk in after knowing what he did to you?" Changkyun offered. 

Hyungwon shook his head. "It wasn't her fault. She wasn't even in charge of member applications. She only found out after I told her. Even then she looked apologetic and offered to kick him out for me but I didn't want to go that far."

"Then why do you think the universe hates you?" Hyunwoo asked gently. 

"Because it's easier to blame the universe than anything else." Hyungwon answered. 

There was a short pause. 

"Okay, yeah, that makes sense." Kihyun said. 

"It's hard to say what is it that happen between you and Minhyuk. I knew him for some time and I just can't see him doing it." Changkyun said. "It's not that I don't trust what you told us, hyung! Of course, I trust you. But, it's hard to process that Minhyuk would do such a thing especially without a concrete reason. It makes it difficult for me to hate him, knowing him as a person firsthand." 

"I know how you feel. I, myself, still couldn't take in what happened that day." Hyungwon replied. "It feels like a fever dream and I wished it didn't actually happen."

"If that didn't happen, how do you think things will end up between you two?" Hyunwoo asked. 

Hyungwon went silent. He gave it a thought. And this wasn't the first time he was thinking about it either. He thought about it frequently especially after everything that had transpired. It was scary how far his thoughts would take him. 

"Maybe we would be dating," Hyungwon said. 

"What? You finally stopped being a coward?" Kihyun joked. It wasn't malicious, just playful. Because Kihyun knew how much confessing meant to Hyungwon, especially when their friendship was on the line. 

"I guess. I don't know. I would give him some time to get over the break up. But I think I'll finally take that step forward." Hyungwon explained. 

Kihyun looked at him and Hyungwon noticed that glint in his eyes. I would be proud of you, his eyes said. And Hyungwon was so, so grateful he had Kihyun to call his best friend. 

"And if that didn't work out?" 

"Changkyun!" Kihyun hissed, snapping his head to glare at the other. 

Changkyun raised his hands in mock defense. "What? I'm just giving you different scenarios to work on."

"Then I'll just move on." Hyungwon answered. "I was attempting to move on before whatever the fuck that happen," 

Hyunwoo smiled at him. "You'll do fine, Hyungwon. You're already healing." 

"Yeah, partially I guess." Hyungwon mumbled mostly to himself. "Enough about me. What are you guys doing for the college festival?"

Hyungwon parted ways with Hyunwoo and Changkyun at the college cafeteria, Kihyun following him. They decided to hang out a little longer with each other since they were both done with classes for the day. It was rare that they got to spend so much time with each other hence Hyungwon appreciated every little moment they had. 

Except, he couldn't. Not at the moment at least with Kihyun acting tense and fidgeting beside him. The stressful energy was not doing good to Hyungwon especially with the drunk Minhyuk incident still bugging his mind. 

"Spit it, Kihyun. What is it that you have to say?" Hyungwon said, not beating around the bush.

They weren't kids anymore. Hyungwon was mature enough to deal with whatever criticism Kihyun was about to throw his way. 

"I don't know how to say this without offending you," Kihyun explained. 

"Kihyun, you made me cry when we were 13 because you mock my obsession with Sailor Moon. Anything you say to me right now can't break our friendship like it did that one time." 

"Okay, fair." Kihyun answered. "But, you see, you're my friend right, Hyungwon? Childhood best friend, best friends of a decade, been there since we were 10, yeah whatever. And Minhyuk, he's-" 

"He's your friend as well. Best friend. Just like he is – was? – to me. I'm not gonna put it past you for that. We've been through a lot, the three of us." Hyungwon replied. 

"Yeah, and," Kihyun inhaled deeply. "I know I should prioritise you because of how way back we go but I can't help but be worried about Minhyuk as well. His ex was an asshole, I don't know how much emotional damage he did to Minhyuk when they broke up especially after what you told me. I got worried, can't really get hold of Minhyuk since, I guess, he's avoiding me as much as he's avoiding you. But I know people, who, conveniently knew Minhyuk as well so I asked around and," 

Hyungwon waited for the next words to come but it took way longer than what he expected. He turned to look at Kihyun, seeing the other bubbled in nervousness. It wasn't like Kihyun to act like this. The other was usually confident and straight to his point. Seeing Kihyun fidget around like this was wrong. 

He stopped in his tracks, Kihyun following suit. "Kihyun, what did you find out?" 

"I- I'm not guilt tripping you by saying this. I know you're trying to move on so I don't want to hurt you-" 

"Kihyun, you're not hurting me in any way." 

"He-" Kihyun swallowed. "He's not doing well, Hyungwon." 

Hyungwon looked at him, waiting for more. "That's not all, is it?" 

"There was a reason they broke up," 

"He told you?" 

Kihyun shook his head. "At the party, Mark heard it. Their fight. Mark and a few others." 

"Jinyoung's housemate? One of the hosts?" 

Kihyun nodded his head, he breathed in. "It was loud. I guess we didn't find out about it because we were inside and also because Jackson managed to break it off before it escalated. Jihoon was there and he told me what he heard or mostly saw." 

"Saw? What did he see?" 

"His ex… did a number on Minhyuk." 

"He hit him?" 

"That, and a few." Kihyun sighed, his voice sounding wet. "Minhyuk asked for the break up, apparently and it didn't settle well with his ex. Called him a few slurs. It wasn't really a pretty sight but Mark told me that Jaehyun helped bring Minhyuk home safely. I think that was how he ended up in DNYL." 

Hyungwon clenched up his fists. "I'm going to punch that asshole." 

"Don't," Kihyun said, hands shooting out to hold Hyungwon's arm so that he was grounded. "It will do you no good. Especially with how weak you actually are physically, Hyungwon." 

"But that asshole harmed Minhyuk! He probably abused him throughout their whole relationship as well," Hyungwon retorted. 

"And Minhyuk's free from him now. If you show up in front of him, it will do no good for the both of you." Kihyun reasoned. 

Hyungwon breathed out deeply. Kihyun was right. It would do both of them no good. It also didn't hide the fact that Hyungwon pushed Minhyuk away while the other was probably trying to heal as well. Which made him look more like an asshole than the ex. 

"I'm only telling you this so you would know. What Minhyuk did was still hard to forgive but," Kihyun paused, looking at him. "If there is anything you – we – could possibly do for him, then let's do so."

Preparations for the upcoming celebration were happening. DNYL had laid out the plans and tasks each member had to take on. The good news? Hyungwon was tasked to buy supplies whenever they needed them. It was a task that a few members were also in charge of, aside from assembling the props for the celebration. It was an easy task in his opinion, with all the other members who were assigned to do the same. The bad news? He wasn't in a group with either Hyunwoo or Jisoo. 

Instead – because the universe absolutely hated him and wanted to test his ego – he was in a group with Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk had been cooperative for the most part of the preparations while also avoiding Hyungwon at any given time. And for some reason – after the drunk incident and finding out part of the reason Minhyuk broke up with his ex – it bothered Hyungwon a lot. 

Which, logically, didn't make sense. Because it was him who told Minhyuk to leave him alone and basically stay away from him. And Minhyuk was just doing as he was ordered to. So Hyungwon should feel relieved, right? 

Wrong. 

He was more frustrated than ever now that Minhyuk was clearly keeping their distance. With Minhyuk in such close proximity with him while also avoiding him completely, his frustrations really built up. It made him torn between wanting to fix up whatever broken parts of their friendship that was left or enjoying the distance he was given to forget his feelings for Minhyuk.

His feelings for Minhyuk. Hyungwon almost forgot he still had leftovers of those after everything that had occured between them. The feelings were still there, Hyungwon guessed. If the heartache every time he saw Minhyuk was anything to go by. But it felt duller now, numb like it didn't affect him as badly as it did before. And Hyungwon took that as a good sign, if his torn friendship with Minhyuk wasn't part of its side effect. 

Internally, Hyungwon chuckled. If the universe hated him so much, now would be a great time to try and put some kind of coincidence for them to interact like normal people again. 

"Hey Minhyuk, do you think you can get some supplies at the store?" He heard Ten ordered around. 

Hyungwon watched them with interest, his hand still fiddling with one of the decorations. He saw Ten handing Minhyuk a list of what he assumed the supplies were written on. He didn't pay much attention to their conversation until he heard his name. 

"Bring Hyungwon with you," Ten said. 

"What? It's fine, I can carry a few things on my own." Minhyuk countered. Nice excuse in trying to avoid him. 

"Yeah and as much as useless it is for it to be you two carrying a shitload of supplies, I know Hyungwon has a car. So that could be put to good use. The wholesale store is quite far too." Ten explained. "Is that okay with you, Hyungwon?" 

Hyungwon looked at him. "Is it the store on the other side of town?" Ten nodded his head. "Yeah, I can drive there. We have to head back to the dorm buildings though. I didn't drive here. Is that fine with you?" 

Minhyuk blinked at Hyungwon as the question was directed at him. "Um, yeah. I'm fine with it." 

"Cool, we can head there after I'm done with this." 

"Or, you can go now and I can ask some other guy to do that. The sooner we get the supplies the better," 

"Okay then." Hyungwon mumbled, standing up. "Come on," He signalled Minhyuk to follow him and they walked away to get to his car. 

And there it was. The sign the universe hated him and wanted to test his ego.

Sitting in a car alone with Minhyuk proved to be more difficult than he expected. Hyungwon's fingers thrummed against the steering wheel. Minhyuk was fidgeting in his seat, fingers playing with the material of his seatbelt. They had gone to the dorm buildings to fetch his car and ever since then the both of them had been very silent. It was fine when it was in open air, but sitting in a cramped space with Minhyuk alone while not uttering a single word to each other really intensified the awkward air between them. 

Hyungwon sighed, leaning against his seat. The traffic was bad and he couldn't really understand why when it wasn't even rush hour. Why did Ten have to choose a supply store all the way at the other side of the town? It would've been easier if it was near their campus. 

He glanced over at Minhyuk who was still playing with the fray threads on his seatbelt. He wasn't even on his phone which was really odd of Minhyuk. At least being on his phone might save them from the awkward air. But instead here they were. Hyungwon pondered for a while, calculating his next moves then he decided that screw it, might as well. 

"How- how are your classes?" Hyungwon asked, eyes still on the road. 

"Huh?" Minhyuk mumbled, surprised as if he didn't expect Hyungwon to start a conversation with him. "It's fine. As good as college classes could ever go," 

Hyungwon hummed. "Your professors still nice to you?" 

"They're okay. They're not bad," 

"Only because you're the favourite student." 

"No I'm not. Isn't that like, Kihyun?" 

"Yeah, he's still the favourite student on campus like he was in high school." Hyungwon snickered, remembering his other friend. "He misses you," He added, thinking about the conversation him and Kihyun had recently. 

"Oh? I- I miss him too actually," Minhyuk uttered weakly. 

"He said you've been avoiding him." 

"I didn't think he wanted to see me, after what happened between us."

There was a short silence between them. Hyungwon's hands on the wheel tighten. "We're still friends," 

He could feel Minhyuk glance at him. "Not what I last heard."

"Yeah. It's probably hypocritical of me to say this after what I told you," Hyungwon mumbled. 

"I just wanted to say this, but I am really sorry. And I know I would probably not be forgiven but I still want to say it." Minhyuk said. "I'm sorry, for that day at your house and that night when you brought me home."

Hyungwon let the words sink into him. He hasn't – and deep down knew he probably wouldn't – forgive Minhyuk any time soon. It wasn't really a small matter. Bringing a drunk Minhyuk home that night wasn't as much of a big deal. It was the events before that that really left a scar on Hyungwon's heart. He knew that, in a wider scope, it probably wasn't that much of a problem he made it out of. But deep within, it still hurt him. 

"I don't think it's easy for me to forgive you," Hyungwon started. 

"I thought as much." 

"But I think what I said to you was out of line as well." 

Minhyuk shook his head. "I deserve that. What I did to you was just, morally wrong. I was drunk and tried to take advantage of you." 

"You were drunk which meant you weren't thinking right. I don't think you wanted to take advantage of me on purpose. Unless that was your intention all along." Hyungwon said. 

"I don't know how you think of me now, but you know I won't do that, right? The last thing I wanted was to take advantage of my friend and ruin our friendship," Minhyuk explained. "But who knew I accidentally did both without realizing and screwed us up."

"I'm sorry it ended up like this." 

"It's what I deserve." 

"Stop saying that," Hyungwon retorted, the traffic starting to let up and cars moving regularly again. Something about the way Minhyuk said that didn't settle well with him. "You don't deserve horrible things Minhyuk. Since I first met you till now, you're nothing but a good person." 

"Even a good person deserves something horrible in their lives, don't they?" Minhyuk asked. "It's how we know the universe is there to make sure life is fair for all," 

Hyungwon shook his head. "I don't think that's how the universe works. But I do apologize for what I said to you." 

"It's okay. I don't take it to heart," Minhyuk said, smiling slightly. "You did say you were incapable of hating me." 

"That's true." Hyungwon clarified. "And I know things haven't been well for us, it's near impossible for us to jump into being friends again. But I want you to know that I'm at least someone that you know. If you need anything, I'll be there. You don't really have to avoid me so consistently." 

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon knew it wasn't a promise nor was it anything special. But hearing it felt nice. As if the universe has finally decided to stop making them suffer so much. Let the stars realign and see where they fell into place. Like they said, whatever will happen, will happen. 

Just like what he predicted. It wasn't a promise at all. Him and Minhyuk didn't become the best of friends again after that day. But Minhyuk had stopped obviously avoiding him while Hyungwon hadn't tried to divert his eyes whenever he saw Minhyuk. It was progress in a sense. At least they were at the stage of acquaintances instead of strangers who were each other's once was. 

Minhyuk didn't outrightly start up a conversation with him, probably still find it awkward to fall back into routine. But whenever they met eyes the other always had a smile to spare for Hyungwon as well as a nod and a short greeting. It made Hyungwon feel the talk they had in the car was worthwhile. It was still wavering in uncertainty, neither of them knew where this newfound relationship would take them. Hyungwon concluded to just let the universe decide for them. 

"Things have been well?" Jisoo asked him when they were gathered together at the dance studio. 

They were having a short meeting to see where the preparations were taking them. So far it had been well and every day Hyungwon got excited thinking about how big the celebration would be. 

"As well as it could be." Hyungwon answered. 

"You and Minhyuk?" 

"We're not- having whatever we had before this. We- I'm trying to fix it." 

"You?" Jisoo asked. "Well, I'm not going to stick my nose up your business and ask why. But it's good to know it's been well. At least one of us is good at fixing their relationship." 

"I'm not at all. I'm just letting things flow by itself." Hyungwon clarified. He looked at Jisoo, noting the intonation in his words that seemed a little too sad. "I thought everything has been going fine with you and your friends?" 

Jisoo snorted. "As fine as a man in love trying to avoid his two best friends." 

"So you're the Minhyuk in your story?" 

"More or less. I didn't have a crazy ex and I'm in love with two of my best friends who happened to date each other. I'm not trying to avoid them because I was told to. More like, so I don't feel like a third wheel." 

"Being in love lowkey sucks." 

"I know right? Why do they advertise being in love so much?" Jisoo huffed. "Enough about my pity party. Have you seen Hyunwoo? He looks positively happy lately. Not that it's a bad thing but he's also been distracted." 

"Huh I notice that too. I have no idea what's going on but I'm glad his life is taking a positive turn." Hyungwon said.

"Have you actually seen Hyunwoo? That guy is always with his serene smile, I doubt he's capable of feeling negative." 

Hyungwon laughed. "It's what makes hanging out with Hyunwoo fun. I can't really complain about it."

After the club meeting was over, Hyungwon headed straight to his last class for the day. He was so absorbed in his lecture that he didn't notice the messages blowing up his phone. It was also partially because he put his phone on silent and threw it deep into his backpack. It wasn't until he was out of the lecture hall, trying to scroll through the message spam that Kihyun sent him that someone barrelled into him. 

Hyungwon tried to steady himself, barely managing to stand upright as the one who barrelled into him clutched him tightly. He looked down only to see Kihyun giving him a weird stare. 

"What the hell Kihyun?" Hyungwon muttered to the other. 

"What did you do?" Kihyun asked. 

Hyungwon looked at him confused. "What did I do?" 

"What did you do?" 

"A context would be nice just about now," 

Kihyun made an incoherent noise. "I saw Minhyuk at the cafeteria earlier. I smiled at him and at first I thought he was going to avoid me again but he actually came up to me and struck up a conversation with me? He said he misses me too, Hyungwon. What did you do?" 

"He did that?" Hyungwon asked, surprised. 

"What did you do?" 

"Relax," Hyungwon urged him. "I just had a talk with him a few days ago." 

"And it end up well?" 

"Seeing that he talked to you, I'll say it went better than I expected." 

Kihyun let out a relieved sigh as he fell back. "You didn't argue with him again? Right?" 

"No. We only had a civil talk in my car." 

"In your car?" 

"We were heading out to buy supplies for the celebration. I kind of just started a conversation with him." 

Kihyun looked at him carefully. "Everything okay with you?" 

"I'm fine." Hyungwon finished lamely. "I'm not hurting that much any longer. It just hurts when I know Minhyuk going through things on his own. It didn't settle well with me. We're not conversing that's for sure. But we're talking, just a little. And we don't avoid each other like our lives depend on it anymore." 

"That's good?" Kihyun said. "That's a progress, I guess, in a way."

"I still think it's hard to forget what happened between us but I try to slowly forgive him and open up again." Hyungwon explained. 

"That's good. If you think it's what's best for you then I'm all in for it." 

Hyungwon smiled. "Thank you, Kihyun." 

Kihyun beamed back at him. "Anything for you, Hyungwon." 

Life went on for Hyungwon, just as it did for many others. With his piling up assignments, daily classes and preparations for the upcoming campus celebration, Hyungwon had been on his feet most of the time. Which served as a great distraction in his opinion. He wasn't stuck daydreaming as much as he did before, only having his midnight thoughts bothering him before sleep. Even that didn't last long because he fell asleep too soon as he was too tired from the day's event. 

But it was good. The lesser he overthink, the better it was for him and the people around him. It was healthier in a sense despite him probably being overworked to his bones. 

There was a hand on his shoulder and Hyungwon expected it to be Hyunwoo but as he turned his head to look, he discovered that it was Minhyuk instead. He blinked at the other, head tilting to the side. 

"Are you okay?" Minhyuk asked, voice sounding worried. 

This was the first time Minhyuk approached him directly. While they weren't plainly avoiding each other, they still manage small smiles and a nod here or there. Though there was never a conversation starter. None of them dare to approach the other to talk or make conversation. Something in Hyungwon's heart fluttered and he shut that feeling down as quickly as it came. 

"Yeah. Why?" Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk shook his head. "You seem a little out of it. Have you been resting well?" 

"More or less? As much as I can manage." There was a frown etched on Minhyuk's features. 

"Don't overwork yourself," He reminded Hyungwon. 

"I don't. It's just, there's a lot of things to do so I have been occupied with that." Hyungwon explained. 

"Still, I'm sure you can take a break once in a while." 

"I'll try." Hyungwon promised. "Thank you for worrying." 

It was as if Minhyuk was plunged into cold water unexpectedly. Hyungwon watched as his expression went from worry to surprise then guilt and Hyungwon shouldn't be too worried about it but something didn't settle well with him when Minhyuk became tense suddenly. Gone was the concern he held for Hyungwon just a few minutes ago. Instead he became cautious of his next moves, unsure if this was a territory he could breached after the fiasco that happened between them. It made Hyungwon feel shittier than he had ever been. 

"I- Uh- Yeah, it's nothing." Minhyuk replied and the awkward air hung before them. 

They both pondered on who should leave first. It would make sense if Minhyuk did because he was the one who walked over to where Hyungwon sat. But he didn't get to take that one step to escape before Jinyoung came over and slung an arm over Minhyuk's shoulders. 

"Are you guys free next weekend?" He asked them, as if not noticing the awkward air still looming over them. 

"Uh, depends really. Why?" Hyungwon answered. 

"There's a party going on next week-" 

"When are you never holding a party with your housemates, really?" Hyungwon cut him off. 

"It's not mine this time. I swear!" Jinyoung told them. "It's a friend's. Amber? I think you guys know her, been around here a few times with Ten. She's hosting a party with some other girls from the Engineering Dept and she told me and my housemates to invite a few people. It won't be that big of a party, promise. Just a few tight friends and the members of the club." 

"Jackson and Bambam literally know the whole campus. Are you sure it was wise of Amber to ask them of all people to do the invitation?" Minhyuk pointed out. 

"Relax, we already had a list on who to invite actually and you guys made the list! Congrats! I'll text you guys the details. It's next Saturday around 9PM," 

"I'll see if I can make it." Minhyuk answered. 

"Same here." Hyungwon agreed. 

"That's cool. Bye- Oh and invite Kihyun and Changkyun as well. The more the merrier," Jinyoung said as he walked away. 

"Didn't you say only a few tight friends?" Jinyoung shrugged his shoulders at Minhyuk's remark as he disappeared among the crowd leaving the dance studio. 

"At this rate it feels like Jinyoung would over-invite people to someone else's party." Hyungwon commented. 

"Most likely." Minhyuk agreed. He turned towards Hyungwon, "Are you going?" 

"Maybe. I'm not sure. You?"

"Same thoughts. But they do say Amber's party is a rare and sacred event." 

"You have to experience it at least once in your college life." 

"I take it that you already have an answer on whether or not you're going?" 

Hyungwon grinned. "See you there?" 

Minhyuk smiled back at him. "See you."

"If you're going to keep attending all these parties we have to get you a wardrobe change," Kihyun pointed out when they met up at his dorm. 

"What's wrong with my current one?" Hyungwon asked, oblivious to the way Kihyun judged him. 

"Literally everything." Kihyun snorted. "Who the hell wears a plaid shirt to a party?" 

"I do. And it's fashion! Isn't this like the go-to outfits for everyone?" Hyungwon huffed. 

"I'm sorry Hyungwon, but I have to agree with Kihyun here. That is not something you usually wear to a party." Minhyuk said. 

Right, Minhyuk was here too. In his dorm. Just casually standing there in his sheer black long-sleeved and leather jeans as he judged Hyungwon for his choice of party wear. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't much of a party goer before this. Life changed him in many ways and attending college parties happened to be one of his new ways of living. 

"Well, you know what they say. What you lack in a fashion statement you make up for the face. He's lucky he's good-looking." Changkyun commented. 

Hyungwon groaned and rolled his eyes. "Do you guys really have to judge my outfits? I'm driving you to the party and designated driver to bring you home safely. I can leave you whenever I want to." 

"And I appreciate the gesture but I am not walking into Amber's party with a walking nerd trying to fit in fashion piece beside me," Kihyun argued. 

"I'm not a nerd!" 

"Even Changkyun's hellish e-boy fashion is better than your plaid shirt." 

"Hey!"

"I think we need to change up whatever it is you're wearing," Minhyuk said, walking over to his wardrobe. 

"It's a shirt!" Hyungwon retorted. 

"Yes and it's not suitable for a party with possibly half of the college population. Maybe keep those plaid shirts for one of your blind dates," Kihyun said as he walked over to where Minhyuk stood to rummage his wardrobe. 

Hyungwon sighed, plopping down on his bed. He watched silently as Minhyuk, Kihyun and now Changkyun, threw out the clothes inside his wardrobe. "We're going to be late to the party." 

"But we're going to be fashionably late." 

"As fashionable as Hyungwon hyung's nerd scheme outfits." 

"Shut up e-boy try hard." 

"Well, at least I try to spice up my wardrobe." 

"Stop judging me and my minimalist fashion choices." 

"And he calls me an e-boy try hard." 

"Do any of you have emergency fishnets?" 

"Why the heck do you need fishnets?" Hyungwon said, looking at Kihyun. "And what do you even mean by emergency? Do you guys just casually bring around fishnets?" 

"Fashion emergencies. I usually carry around emergency chains." Changkyun replied. "Suitable for fashion and for a private session." 

"I do not want to know about your sex life, Changkyun." 

"So do you guys have an emergency fishnet?" Kihyun asked again. 

Hyungwon didn't answer him because hell, he didn't even own a fishnet much less emergency ones. Changkyun merely shrugged his shoulder. Like he said, he only had emergency chains and Kihyun was looking for fishnets. Which left them with Minhyuk who seemingly was still busy digging up Hyungwon's wardrobe. 

"I don't think we need fishnets, Kihyun." Minhyuk said, pulling out a leather jacket that Hyungwon had shoved to the back of his wardrobe mindlessly. He didn't think he would have ever seen the piece of clothing again. Yet there it was. 

Kihyun smirked and turned towards Hyungwon. He gulped. "Come on Chae, we're going to turn you into a character from Grease. But hotter and sexier and definitely more party-able." 

"You look like you came out of an 80's movie but with a dash of the 21st century aesthetic that the people on Pinterest are trying to achieve." Jinyoung commented when he saw him. Hyungwon arched an eyebrow at him in question. Jinyoung chuckled, "You look good, Hyungwon." 

"Thank you." Hyungwon replied, smiling slightly. "Kihyun would be proud to hear that." 

"Ah, that explains a lot." 

Hyungwon looked at him, slightly annoyed. "I love minimalistic fashion okay. Button ups are not nerd outfits." 

"I'm not judging you for it!" Jinyoung said, holding up his hands in defense. "I only said that because your current outfit is different from your usual. Anyways, where is Kihyun and the others?" 

"I don't know. Him, Minhyuk and Changkyun ditched me as soon as we arrived. They're probably getting drinks." Hyungwon said. 

"Perhaps. Enjoy the party. I'm going to hang out with some friends." 

"Sure." Hyungwon replied as he watched Jinyoung walking over to a group of students Hyungwon couldn't recognize. 

He looked around the area, trying to spot any familiar faces. He couldn't find any and not even his friends he had driven here could be seen. Hyungwon sighed as he entered the house. Loud music started blasting out as soon as he entered. He jumped slightly, quickly slipping in and shutting the door behind him. There were a lot of people inside. So much for a few tight friends. 

Someone was aggressively yelling in the middle of the living room. It wasn't anything bad per se, just someone overly excited at the prospect of partying. He walked over to the kitchen, narrowly avoiding the people who stumbled towards him. Neither Minhyuk and Kihyun were there but Changkyun was. Hyungwon saw him getting familiar with someone and his eyebrow arched as he recognized who it was. He walked over towards them, careful that he didn't disturb anything that was in the making. 

"Jooheon?" Both him and Changkyun turned towards Hyungwon, Jooheon looking more surprised than the younger. 

"You guys know each other?" Changkyun asked. 

"Oh, Hyungwon!" Jooheon exclaimed, smiling at him. They weren't friends actually, far from that but they follow each other on Instagram so Hyungwon liked to think they were at least acquainted. And Jooheon was polite really, if that incident indicated anything about his mannerisms. "Surprised to see you here." 

"Same here. We met each other at a club," Hyungwon addressed, looking at Changkyun. The other looked at him questioningly but didn't say anything. "I didn't expect to see you here." 

"Amber's a friend of a friend. Jackson invited me, he goes to the same college?" Jooheon replied. 

"Ah, Jackson. Make sense." Hyungwon nodded his head. A few tight friends, huh? This is basically the whole town. 

"Is Minhyuk here too?" Jooheon asked carefully. 

"He's here, somewhere, we came together with Changkyun and another friend." 

A look of relief passed by Jooheon's face and Hyungwon forgot just how many people knew about his and Minhyuk's huge argument. There were the friends Hyungwon willingly told. Then there was Minhyuk who drunkenly professed everything at a club downtown. He was surprised their hometown neighbourhood hasn't heard of it. If they knew Hyungwon and Minhyuk, they knew that they were basically the best of friends, right after Kihyun and Hyungwon. 

"What are you guys doing just chit-chatting over here?" Jackson said, grinning as he slung an arm around Jooheon's shoulder. 

"It's a party Jackson. Aren't you supposed to socialize?" Jooheon retorted. 

"Right, right. Remember, you're handling the DJ booth after Soda is done." 

"You're playing tonight?" Changkyun asked, eyes sparkling as he looked at Jooheon. 

"Jackson did invite me. He's basically leeching off the fact I can DJ." Jooheon explained, smiling. 

"I'm giving you free clouts! Where else are you going to earn more fans if not college parties? Play a few big named clubs and suddenly you don't acknowledge me." 

Jooheon rolled his eyes. "You're being overdramatic, Wang. Take me to the booth. So much for letting me see around before the party starts." 

"I didn't expect people to come so early!" Jackson exclaimed. "Come on, big sulky baby. I'll bring you over." 

Jooheon hit Jackson's shoulders in retaliation as the other whined in pain. He was about to leave with Jackson before he turned towards Changkyun. "You're going to watch my set, right?" 

Hyungwon watched in amusement as the pink colour filtered into Changkyun's cheeks. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Jackson and Jooheon left them soon after. Hyungwon turned towards Changkyun, ready to tease the absolute living hell of him about Jooheon. But he didn't get to as Changkyun cut him off immediately. 

"You went to a club?" Changkyun asked. 

Right. No one other than Jooheon and a drunken Minhyuk knew about that incident. 

"Must I report to you everything I do?" 

"No. But a club, Hyungwon. That's so uncharacteristic of you. To go to a club and with Minhyuk?" 

Hyungwon sighed. "I didn't go to a club. Minhyuk did. I went to fetch him because Jooheon called me to say that he was wasted." 

"I don't think this is recent events or else either me or Kihyun would have heard of it," Changkyun said, crossing his arm over his chest. 

"It's- been a few weeks? A month maybe?" 

"A month!" 

"Look, it was 3AM and Minhyuk was wasted in a club downtown with the only other people who knew him had a set to play. I couldn't have left him alone, could I?" 

"Obviously you can't or else I would've called you an absolute dickhead. But is this also the event that started the chain reaction of you guys reconciling and being friends again?" 

"More or less," Hyungwon answered. "I decided to stop being childish about it. I still haven't fully forgiven him but we're getting there." 

"That's good, I guess? Healthier in the relationship sense. Does Kihyun know?"

Hyungwon pursed his lips and shook his head. 

"Yikes. He's gonna get a relapse from this. Very interesting." 

"Not as interesting as your life." Hyungwon countered. "So, Jooheon huh?" 

"Oops, look at that. I wonder where Kihyun and Minhyuk are?" 

"I'm going to warn him about your emergency private session chains." 

"Hyungwon, don't you fucking dare."

The night went on with the party at full force. More people entered through the front door with each passing minute and Hyungwon was starting to feel concern whether the place could house all of them at once. He still hadn't found where Minhyuk had run off to. It was as if the other had completely disappeared as soon as they arrived at the party. He caught glimpses of Kihyun, having the time of his life with a few people, toeing between flirting and being overly friendly. But Minhyuk was still nowhere to be seen. 

Even Changkyun tried to look for him but couldn't exactly find him. Hyungwon guessed if Minhyuk really needed them he would give them a call. For now, he opted to hang around Kihyun and his new found friends. 

"Who invited him?" He heard someone hissed beside him. The music was loud but the person's voice was urgent that it caught Hyungwon's attention. He turned to look, recognizing one of them as Mark and another, Youngjae, one of the few of Jinyoung's housemates. 

"Not me! I don't think any of us invited him especially after that stunt he pulled the other day. He must have slipped in because it's such a big crowd and thought no one noticed," Youngjae said.

"We have to get rid of him. I don't want that asshole here. No one even likes him!" Mark stressed out, sighing. Hyungwon wondered who they were talking about. "Where's Minhyuk? He's here right? I saw him earlier, I swear if that dick comes near Minhyuk I would chop off his head." 

Alarm bells rang inside his head. If any asshole was associated with Minhyuk and if Mark was trying to get rid of him, there could only be one asshole in question. And that was Minhyuk's loser of an ex. Hyungwon would be damned if he let that ex get near Minhyuk again. 

"Is this Minhyuk's ex?" Hyungwon asked when he got closer to Mark and Youngjae. 

Mark frowned as he looked at him. It took him a while before he finally seemed to recognize him. "You're Hyungwon, right? Did Minhyuk come with you?" 

"He did with Kihyun and Changkyun as well. We lost him somewhere at the front door though. I tried looking for him but I can't find him in the crowd." 

"Then we have to." Mark insisted. "His ex managed to slip into the party. I don't know how exactly but it doesn't matter. Someone saw him entering around one or two hours ago so he might still be around. We need to get rid of him and make sure Minhyuk's safe. I am not letting him assault Minhyuk again." 

Hyungwon's blood ran cold when he heard of Minhyuk getting assaulted. "I'll look for him. I'll get Kihyun and Changkyun too."

Mark nodded his head. "I'll get Jinyoung and the others to help too. Youngjae, alert us if anyone saw either Minhyuk or the ex. We'll attack him on sight if we have to. Amber won't let a predator roam around her party much less her house." 

"On it," Youngjae said, already making his way through the crowd.

"We'll search the house. You try the outdoors," Mark said before leaving. 

Hyungwon rushed over to Kihyun, tugging his shirt in urgency. "We have to go," 

"Where?" 

"Minhyuk. We need to go look for him. His ex is here." 

"Shit," Kihyun cursed under his breath. He excused himself out of the previous conversation he was having and headed outside with Hyungwon. "I'm going to punch that asshole if I see him near Minhyuk again." 

"That makes us both. Come on, you search the backyard and I'll try going outside the area a little." 

Kihyun nodded his head. "Text me if anything happens, I'll get Changkyun with me."

Looking for Minhyuk at a party with most of the college population and half of the town population proved to be as hard as he expected. He went around to ask some DNYL club members that he recognized but they merely answered him with a vague, 'I saw him before but I don't know about now'. It increased the frustrations building up inside Hyungwon. 

He decided to look outside of where the party was generally being held. There were cars parked just a few metres away from the party. If Minhyuk's ex came to see him, then he would probably bring them somewhere far from where the public was to avoid a repeat of Jinyoung's end of semester party. 

There were a few people scattered around even outside the party area, just casually talking amongst themself. Hyungwon sighed as he roamed the area and did not see anyone suspicious or even Minhyuk around. He was about to head back to the house when he heard a distinctive shout from a familiar voice. 

"Fuck off, Seunghee! We broke up months ago. It's time you leave me alone," Hyungwon turned towards the source of the noise. 

He spotted Minhyuk's brunette hair behind someone's car and then another person who looked like his ex standing before him. Hyungwon quickly fiddled with his phone and texted Kihyun before he marched over to where they were standing. He was going to make sure Minhyuk's ex learnt his lesson and never came closer to him. 

"Oh, come on. You didn't mean that break up! You were just- you were just drunk. You love me."

"I was sober and perfectly clear-headed. I liked you, once before we started dating but that feeling was long gone after all the damage you did upon me." 

"Damage? I was protecting you!" 

"By what? Pushing away my friends? Cursing me to show that you're inferior? Locking me up from the outside world?"

"Come on, Minhyuk. You know I don't mean that. I know we can work things together."

"No! I don't want to see you in my life anymore. Leave me alone!"

"Oh, you ungrateful shit, just follow me and we won't have to deal with this any longer."

"I'm not following you,"

"I said come!"

"He told you that he isn't going to follow, didn't he?" Hyungwon said, pulling Minhyuk away from his ex. He dragged Minhyuk behind him, shielding him. Seunghee gave him a look and scoffed. 

"Well, look who we have here, the pretentious best friend." 

"Screw off, Seunghee. The two of you broke up, what more do you want from him?"

"Listen, this is about me and him. So I ask you to back off so I can settle this peacefully." Seunghee barked. 

"Peacefully? I don't see you have a pleasant chat here. Leave him alone." 

"You've never failed to irritate me since me and him started dating. I wished I got rid of you sooner." Seunghee snarled. He surged forward to hit Hyungwon but he was quicker as he dodged the blow. It happened a few times with Seunghee coming forward to attack and Hyungwon dodging them. He wasn't going to fight this rat in a leather jacket at a party. 

"Come back at me, huh? Are you scared? You're a fucking coward! Always a coward." Hyungwon clenched his teeth in anger. If Kihyun didn't come this instance with back up he might have to throw in a few punches with his noodle arms. 

As it seemed, Kihyun was the guardian angel sent down for him as he appeared soon after like he heard his prayers. With him were more people – Changkyun, Jackson, Mark, Youngjae and a few others Hyungwon didn't recognize. Thank goodness because at least he knew Jackson did his arms regularly at the gym to give Seunghee a good knock out. 

"Didn't I tell you to fuck off, Seunghee?" Jackson snarled at him. He had stopped throwing aimless punches and Hyungwon's anger receded when he saw his friends. "First you mess with one of my boys and when he put a restraining order on you, you decided to mess with my crew's friends. Don't make me put you behind the bars, Lee." 

Seunghee scoffed. "You wouldn't have the guts." 

"Oh trust me, I'll be glad to shove you in the prison. I have evidence on you, I just have to send it in." 

Seunghee clenched his fists together. Hyungwon expected him to attack again but instead he only seethed in frustration and bolted away. It wasn't an expected reaction though at least he was finally out of sight. 

"I think it's time to put him in jail." He heard Youngjae say. 

Jackson turned towards him and nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll have the files ready tomorrow and file the lawsuit." 

"Lawsuit?" Hyungwon asked. 

"Major stuff. I'll explain when it happens." Jackson shrugged him off. 

"Are you okay?" Hyungwon turned to see Kihyun, Mark and Changkyun huddled around Minhyuk. 

"I'm fine," Minhyuk said, slouching against Kihyun. 

"I'm sorry. This wouldn't happen if-" 

"It's fine, Mark. You've helped me a lot. It can't be helped that he actually followed me here. I'll just be careful from now on." 

"I'll talk to my dad. We'll put another restraining order on him." 

"Thank you," Minhyuk said, smiling at him. "You guys can head back. I think I need some fresh air from the party." 

"I'll stay with him," Kihyun said. Mark nodded his head as him and others went back to the party, leaving Kihyun, Minhyuk, Changkyun and Hyungwon at the make-shift parking lot. 

"You guys can head back too. I think I'm going home," 

"Yeah, I think we should retire for the night."

"I'm fine, Kihyun. I can get home by myself."

"And you think I'll leave you alone after what happened? That's insanity. Come on, Hyungwon, you're driving." Kihyun argued, gently dragging Minhyuk towards his car. 

Hyungwon was about to follow them when Changkyun tugged at his wrist. He turned to look at the other and saw Changkyun having an internal debate with himself. "Changkyun?" 

"I know I should be concern about Minhyuk and I'm pretty sure I won't enjoy the party as much anymore after what happened but I-"

"Hey," Hyungwon gently stopped him from blabbering, holding onto his wrist. "It's fine if you don't want to tag along. It's your choice and neither of us are going to hold you accountable for it.

"Sure? I don't want you guys to think I'm an insensitive dick." 

"Of course, Changkyun. I'm just worried about how you're going to get back?" 

"I- uh, someone offered me a ride," Changkyun mumbled, blushing. 

Hyungwon grinned. "And you didn't tell us? Minhyuk would be more mad if you didn't inform him of a juicy tale happening in your life."

Changkyun smacked him. "It was unexpected,"

"It's fine. None of us are going to judge you over this."

"Okay. Okay, promise?"

"No doubt."

Changkyun sighed, looking at Hyungwon. He smiled. "I'm sure Minhyuk would prefer just the three of you together. He needs his best friends after what happened."

"You're his best friend too,"

Changkyun shook his head and squeezed Hyungwon's hand gently. "You two are his favourite. Nothing can separate your trio. Cheer him up for me, yeah?" 

Hyungwon nodded his head, dumbfounded. "Say hi to Jooheon for me?"

Changkyun rolled his eyes at him, Hyungwon narrowly avoiding his playful hit.

In a positive turn of events, they ended up cramped into Minhyuk's couch in the living room. There was barely space for two people and having three adult male on the couch was basically squeezing in as much as they could. But it worked, kind of? Kihyun was grumbling a lot. 

"I'm sitting on the floor," Kihyun declared. 

"No!" Minhyuk whined. "You had no problem cramping on this couch a few years ago. It's practically the same couch." 

"I was a freshman in college with a skinny figure. Now I'm a junior who regularly goes to the gym and has a healthy, balanced diet. This couch was not made for Kihyun in third year of college," Kihyun grumbled. 

"It works fine for Hyungwon in his third year of college."

"You're made out of bones with a slice of meat and a thin layer of skin. Of course it works for you!"

"I don't think that's how human anatomy works," Minhyuk scrunched up his nose. 

"Yeah whatever I'm not the Biology major." Kihyun said, standing up. Minhyuk's hand was quick to reach out and hold him in place. 

"Are you leaving already?" Minhyuk asked. 

Kihyun looked at him. He blinked in surprise and Hyungwon watched as his facial features softened in fondness. "No, I'm going to get more snacks. You do have food in your kitchen, right?" 

"Oh. Yeah, I have." Minhyuk mumbled, letting go of Kihyun. "Do you think you can make us ramen as well?"

"Why do both of you always leech off my cooking skills?"

"You make great ramen."

"It's throwing in processed instant noodles and flavouring into a boiling pot of water, Hyungwon. It's not anything extravagant."

"Still the best ramen," Hyungwon countered. 

"Only because you set the kitchen on fire once for putting the noodles before the water." Minhyuk commented. 

"Accidents. They happen." Kihyun shook his head at Hyungwon's excuse and headed over to the open kitchen. 

"Should we watch a movie?" Hyungwon asked as he flipped through the movies on Minhyuk's Netflix account. 

"I vote Ghibli," 

"Your name,"

"Again? Didn't you watch that like 5 times after the initial release?"

"It's a good movie!"

"Slightly overrated in my opinion," 

"You only say that because it made you cry like a newborn for the five times we watched it together."

"Kihyun?"

"What?"

"Kindly, fuck off."

After a lot of bantering between him, Minhyuk and Kihyun who was in the kitchen preparing ramen, they finally decided to queue a newly released animated movie. Hyungwon fiddled with his phone as they waited for Kihyun to join them. It was quiet between them, with the sound of boiling water from the kitchen barely heard. A few minutes later, Kihyun came back with a pot of ramen and utensils. They settled down back on the couch, each with a bowl of ramen as Hyungwon finally started the movie. 

"I thought you wanted to sit on the floor?" Hyungwon asked Kihyun. 

"If you don't shut up I'll shove the ramen down your throat." 

There were used bowls placed on Minhyuk's coffee table halfway through the movie, the pot not leaving even a trace of stray noodle. They were absorbed in the movie, giving it their utmost attention. The title had been intriguing – something about eating someone else's internal organ, which frankly Hyungwon thought would have been a gore movie but instead was the opposite. The movie had been sad, talking about friendship and death with the slightest hint of romance between the two characters. By the end of it, all three of them were hiccuping from the tears. 

"Will you guys eat my pancreas if I have a tumor in it?" Minhyuk asked when they finally settled down. 

"Only if I don't get a tumor after that."

Minhyuk snorted as he looked at Kihyun. "That's such a you thing to say,"

"What? I'm not going to risk my life twice after basically risking it by cannibalism." Kihyun said, picking up the used dishes to place in the sink. 

"I think I have a healthy diet for it to be safe cannibalism."

"You just ate ramen," Hyungwon pointed out. 

"It's one bowl of ramen over the multitudes of other healthy food I eat." 

"Like what? Instant microwaveable meals?" Kihyun snorted as he came back with a glass of water. 

"Hyungwon lives off ramen and you don't judge him for that." 

"Don't drag me into your argument."

Kihyun rolled his eyes at them and took a seat. They were quiet as Hyungwon skimmed past the movie recommendation on what to watch next. It was nearing midnight but none of them seemed to bother getting up and retiring for the day. 

"You know I'll eat your pancreas despite everything I said, right?" Kihyun whispered before he took a sip of his drink. 

"I know," Minhyuk whispered back. "I know. And it might sound disgusting in retrospect but I know what you mean and I'm thankful." 

Kihyun sighed as he leaned back and Hyungwon carefully listened to what he would say next in the pretense of searching for a movie to watch. "Why have you never told us what Seunghee did to you?" 

"I was scared," Minhyuk mumbled. "Because of him there was a strain in our friendship. I don't want to come at you and throw all my problems like that. I don't want you to think I came back to both of you only after I get a taste of pain." 

"You know we'll never think of you like that, right? You're our best friend, Minhyuk." Kihyun replied, shaking his head. 

"I know but I was scared. I don't know how to approach you guys again. I basically shove you away just to please Seunghee back then and that was so- selfish of me. I ended up losing both of the most precious people in my life and I don't think even I could forgive myself." Minhyuk said tearfully. 

"You've never lost us," Hyungwon told him, voice so quiet he couldn't even believe it was him who said it. His hand idly placed on the armrest, choosing a movie long forgotten. "We're always here for you, Minhyuk." 

"I screwed up our friendship,"

"No, you didn't." Kihyun said sternly. "Minhyuk, it doesn't matter what you did while dating Seunghee. He made you do it. He manipulated you and abused you. Minhyuk, I would have absolutely beat the shit out of him if I knew what you're going through because of him." 

"I'm sorry," Minhyuk hiccuped, tears spilling over. Hyungwon frowned at this, it wasn't Minhyuk's fault at all and it didn't settle well with him that the other was crying over this. He watched as Kihyun engulfed him in an embrace. "I don't deserve you guys," 

"Don't be sorry. We'll always be here for you, Minhyuk." Kihyun replied. 

Hyungwon scooted over and albeit a bit awkward because he wasn't one for physical affection, he draped his arms over Minhyuk's body, hugging him. "You have us, Minhyuk. Always." 

"Thank you," Minhyuk whispered out as they pulled him in tighter. "Stay the night, I think we have a lot to catch up about."

"So you decided to join DNYL?" Kihyun asked him. The television was turned off and now it was just them talking about everything that has happened. 

"Yeah. It isn't to get over him. God forbid if I still have feelings for him. It's only because I thought it would be fun. Jaehyun and I got closer after he helped me out at the party and he was the one who told me about DNYL. I thought I should give it a try, meet new people and maybe gradually get better. I didn't want to go to therapy so that was like the next best thing for me." Minhyuk explained. "I didn't expect to see you there,"

He looked at Hyungwon and there were the unspoken questions. Why were you there? What made you join? Who hurt you? Hyungwon has all the answers to it, but not the courage for it. Kihyun gave him a look and he tried to switch the topic. 

"It's for shit and giggles." Hyungwon answered lamely. "I heard from a few classmates it's a fun club to make friends so I thought, why not? I have no better things to do on those days anyways,"

"Well, it is fun," Minhyuk agreed and Hyungwon internally sighed in relief as Minhyuk took that bullshit excuse without additional questions. "You should join too, Kihyun." 

"Thanks but no way. I already have my hands full with the photography club." 

"Right, you have that. There's the festival thing too. It's going to be a busy semester." 

"We should go on a road trip," Kihyun suggested. 

Hyungwon snorted. "I'm not driving us to god knows where for any longer than when we go back to Gwangju."

"Oh, come on! It's going to be fun, Hyungwon." Minhyuk exclaimed. "We should rent a van or something. Have Changkyun join us and go somewhere near. Maybe an hour or two drive from here," 

"We're busy college students. Unless it's the semester break, we barely even have time to sleep, much less go on a road trip." Hyungwon pointed out. 

"Maybe after the festival is over," Kihyun said. "I'm sure our schedules would let up then. What do you say?" 

Minhyuk grinned. "I'm all for it. Hyungwon?" 

The two of them stared at him in anticipation. It was hard to say no to his best friends. It was possibly one of his weaknesses. So instead of rejecting, Hyungwon sighed and said, "Do I have a choice?" 

They cheered and suddenly, Hyungwon was planning a road trip with his best friends.

"What are you doing?" Hyungwon asked as he watched Kihyun snap a picture of him with his DSLR. 

He blinked. Kihyun removed his camera and checked the picture. He smiled when he liked the outcome of it. And Hyungwon couldn't help but to smile as well at seeing his best friend in his element, doing something he enjoyed.

"Taking pictures," 

"For what?" Hyungwon asked. He was fixing the decoration for the festival, a failure acted upon by a freshman. He understood if Kihyun wanted to take a picture for memories sake, but now was really not the time with how busy he was. 

"For the Instagram page," Kihyun replied. 

"Instagram page?" Hyungwon asked. 

Kihyun hummed. "Yeah. I'm in charge of media promotions so I'm taking pictures to post on social media." 

"So you decided to bother me into taking pictures for media promotions?"

"If the general public is to come here for the festival it's mainly for the food stalls and the handsome students. I'm using you as a way to advertise the festival," 

"There's other people for that? Use Hyunwoo hyung, I'm sure the muscles would make the noonas swoon over him."

Kihyun rolled his eyes at him. "Haven't you heard? He already has a fanclub page after Mingyu posted a picture of him on the Instagram page." 

"Lucky for him,"

"You're good-looking. It's why I decided to date you back then. I'm sure if your face is up on our Instagram page, the whole town would visit the festival," Kihyun reasoned. 

"We broke up not even a month later though," Hyungwon countered. 

"You have a shit personality, that's why."

"We're still friends?"

"Only because I'm the few who could put up with your shit," 

"Wait, you guys used to date?" Changkyun asked when he came over heaving a box of supplies, overhearing their conversation. "That's some interesting detail there." 

"Only for a short while. Didn't last long because we couldn't stand each other as lovers," Kihyun explained briefly. He raised his camera to take a picture of Changkyun with him striking a pose. 

"We were lucky we even made it till two weeks." Hyungwon grumbled. 

In the distance, they hear Minhyuk calling out to them. "Hyungwon, could you come over and help me with this?" 

Hyungwon groaned. "Why did I even agree to help with the festival," he grumbled but made an effort to take two long strides to help Minhyuk. Kihyun and Changkyun watched him leave, out of his hearing distance from them. 

"You were incompatible? But you still remain friends though," Changkyun asked, curious. 

Kihyun shrugged. "Maybe because we've been friends for so long that it didn't work out well," 

There was a short pause as he looked over at Minhyuk and Hyungwon. They were arguing about something and Kihyun couldn't help but let a smile slip by. "Or maybe because he already had his sights on Minhyuk back then so I decided to step aside and let other things unfold."

Hyungwon found himself in the middle of the campus courtyard with a cup of orange juice in hand and maybe a quarter of the college population surrounding him. It was the night before the festival and while that didn't explain why he was out here instead of his dorm room, Hyungwon didn't really have a better explanation. Someone had lay out a blanket in the middle of the courtyard and invited his friends over to join. Somehow, their friend group expanded to Hyungwon's friend group as Kihyun knew of those people. And from them it started to expand towards other students, which led them to where they were now. 

He couldn't say he would complain, it was a nice night out. The decorations have been hung up and the food stalls were ready, they only needed to wait for tomorrow to come for the festival to take place. It was nice to take a break before the chaos that will surely unfold tomorrow. 

The night guard roaming had merely given them a look before continuing his patrol. He heard someone say they got approval from the university administration to lay out at the courtyard tonight as long as they didn't wreck the festival preparations. Hyungwon didn't know how true those words were but he didn't care. He glanced around him and saw Kihyun, Minhyuk, Changkyun and Hyunwoo there with him, as long as they were around he rarely bothered about the other students. 

"Why are you carrying that big thing?" Changkyun asked, referring to Kihyun's DSLR. 

"To take pictures for memories sake, duh." Kihyun replied, fiddling with his camera. 

"Who cares about stilled frames? Just live in the moment,"

"When you see the pictures I took after this was over, then you'll see." 

Hyungwon chuckled as he watched their little bantering. Kihyun was quick to argue with any one of them but behind those defensive words was the male that would cross a fire bridge for his friends. Hyungwon knew him too well to take his sharp jabs to heart. It was just his way to show his affection for them. Albeit, it was a bit harsh, he knew Kihyun had trouble expressing his feelings and that was one of his methods to show that he cared. 

"Did any of you invite someone out of MXC?" Minhyuk asked, taking a sip from his drink. 

"Nah, I don't have friends outside of MXC," Kihyun replied. 

"Uh, I did?" Changkyun said. "I mean, I asked him to come tomorrow but I'm not sure if he'll show up," 

"Who?" 

"Um, Jooheon." 

There was a short pause between the five of them. They let Changkyun's revelation sink in. Then, Minhyuk shrieked. It gained the attention of the people around them as they turned around to see Minhyuk tackling Changkyun, his drink spilling to the ground. Hyunwoo had to politely apologize with the nod of his head at the commotion and Kihyun hit Minhyuk several times on the butt to make him calm down. It soon died down with Minhyuk excitedly shaking Changkyun's whole form. Hyungwon smiled amusedly. 

"You didn't tell me about you and Jooheon!" Minhyuk squealed, barely concealing his excitement. 

"There's nothing between me and Jooheon," Changkyun said. 

"Bullshit, I saw you hitting it off with him at the party," Kihyun said and Hyungwon could see that he was enjoying this. 

"I'm not- We're not-" Changkyun stumbled over his words. His ears were starting to take a colour of fuschia pink and Hyungwon pondered if he should step in to save Changkyun some sense of sanity left with the trickster duo on each side of him. He looked at Hyunwoo, seeing the other being amused as well so Hyungwon decided to have a little fun tonight.

"I can't even get him to be friends with me in the first month of us being acquainted and you're already sleeping with him?" Minhyuk commented. 

"I'm not sleeping with him! We just talk, a lot." Changkyun defended himself. "Wait, you're not interested in him romantically, right?"

"Oh, no way. I just thought he was cute when he first came into the stationary shop I work at. After that it's just the need to befriend him in order to protect him because he was adorable." 

Changkyun sighed. "I mean, well, yeah, he's cute and we hang out with each other a few times-"

"Hang out!" It was Kihyun's turn to exclaim. "How long has this been happening behind the scenes without us knowing?" 

He made an incoherent noise. "While preparing for the festival?" 

There was another squeal now coming from both Kihyun and Minhyuk. Hyungwon wondered if he should drag them somewhere else to avoid disturbing the other students.

"And you never bother to tell us?" 

"Well," Changkyun started, his tone was one Hyungwon recognized as borderline accusing. "The three of you have been busy catching up and Hyunwoo basically goes missing after everything is done so I never really bothered about it." 

Minhyuk cooed at him. "Aw, is the baby feeling lonely?" 

"Please, I'm only a few years younger than you." 

"Okay, but now that you mention it," Kihyun said, turning towards Hyunwoo. "Where have you been, hyung?" 

Hyunwoo looked like a deer caught in the headlights as Kihyun interrogated him like that. Changkyun slumped back in relief as the attention was shifted away from him. His eyes took a mischievous glint at Hyunwoo. If Kihyun and Minhyuk were bad, the three of them together were the worst when it came to digging up secrets.

"Places," Hyunwoo answered discreetly. 

"Wow, that definitely answered the question." Kihyun said sarcastically. 

"Come on hyung, tell us! Is it someone you met at a party? A blind date? Tinder? Does anyone still use Tinder?" Changkyun asked. 

"It's just a friend, an old friend. He's back in town so I've been hanging out with him." 

"Ooh, an old fling then?" Minhyuk said, eyebrows wiggling suggestively. 

It was perhaps in the way that Hyunwoo mentioned an old friend that it clicked in with Hyungwon. He looked at Hyunwoo and saw the confirmation in the way his eyes softened. There was a silent exchange between them that roughly translated to 'are you okay with this?' and Hyunwoo replying with a nod and a smile.

"It's not an old fling. Really, just a friend. I haven't seen him in a while that's why." 

"Well, if you say so." 

"You'll see him tomorrow. He said he'll be coming," 

"Is he hot?" Kihyun asked. "Because if he is I might have to ask for his number."

"Aren't you crushing over that Music Dept. guy?" 

"And what is that about huh, Yoo Kihyun?" 

Their conversation shifted from one person to another as the night went on. Hyungwon barely dodged a few that was directed towards him, mainly their teasing about his wardrobe again. At least he was attempting to change up his fashion every once in a while. He was arguing with Minhyuk about something when someone yelled out. They turned to look and see what it was, only to see fireworks bursting in the night sky with someone yelling congratulations to commemorate the college's anniversary. 

Hyungwon stared at the sky painted with colours in awe. As he turned to look at his friends, a smile blossomed on his face. The semester would end well.

Hyungwon woke up extra early the next day despite retiring to his bed late the night before. He cleaned himself up, changing to appropriate clothes before heading towards the courtyard. There would be a speech from the board of directors regarding the college's 110th year anniversary before the festival commenced. It would take the whole morning for them to finish their speech but at least after that Hyungwon could have time for himself as he roamed around the festival before he had to help with the clean up.

True to his words, the opening ceremony did end up taking the whole morning. But as it seemed, he didn't mind as much when the speeches were done and Minhyuk sidled up beside him. 

"Want to spend the day together?" Minhyuk asked him, smiling. "Kihyun would be busy with taking pictures for the 'gram; Changkyun is waiting for Jooheon and Hyunwoo hyung already went missing. It's only us now." 

Hyungwon grinned at him. "I guess you're as good as a company," 

Minhyuk hit him playfully, laughing. "Excuse you, I'm great company." He retorted. "Come on, I heard they're selling those tanghulu you used to love so much,"

He grabbed him by the wrist and navigated their way around the crowd. Outsiders had started pouring in the middle of the opening ceremony and now the campus was filled with students and the general public. Hyungwon could spot some familiar faces but it wouldn't be long before strangers took up the whole space. Food stalls were already geared up for the day, getting the luxury to skip the opening ceremony to prepare. Hyungwon envied them yet he couldn't say he envied them too much when it was him who spent the most money at the food stalls.

They split the bills between themselves, Minhyuk would buy one thing and Hyungwon would pay the other. It didn't need to be said and by the end of the food stalls lining up, their arms were already filled with food packages. Minhyuk glanced at him, then laughed. 

"We bought too much, didn't we?" Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon shrugged. "Try and call Changkyun, maybe him and Jooheon haven't eaten yet and we can share this amongst ourselves." 

"Should we call Hyunwoo hyung too?" Minhyuk asked, shifting some of the packages into one hand and fished for his phone inside his jeans pocket with the other. 

"Nah. He texted me just now that he will join us later in the day. Something about helping out Jinyoung." Hyungwon answered.

Minhyuk hummed. "Ah, I forgot he's part of Jinyoung's committee. That must be a lot of work. Do you think Kihyun would pick up?"

"I can try," Hyungwon replied as he too fished out his phone to call Kihyun. 

They ended up gathering at the picnic bench near the cafeteria waiting for Changkyun and Jooheon. Kihyun was too busy and would only join them when the crowd died down a little. They settled on the picnic bench, placing the food packages on the table. Jooheon and Changkyun arrived a little later, gaping at the amount of food. 

"Why is there so much food?" Changkyun asked. 

Minhyuk chuckled nervously. "We might have bought them without thinking," 

"So you're making us finish this?" Jooheon deadpanned. 

"If you can, but otherwise, we're just here to enjoy the food." Hyungwon replied.

They fell into easy conversations as they savoured the food. The campus was surrounded with busy chatters from the food stalls and the attendees that they barely got to hear their own conversation over the other noises. As they converse though, they become comfortable with the noises surrounding them, ignoring it for each other. 

Hyungwon sighed as he stretched out. He had eaten a good portion of the food and now he was lethargic. He was occupied with twisting his neck when Minhyuk called out to him. 

"Oh, Hyungwon, you have something on your lips," Before Hyungwon got to ask him what it was, Minhyuk already surged forward to wipe it away with a tissue. 

His eyes widened. And suddenly, just like that, the feelings he thought he had locked up tightly hit him right in the heart in crashing waves. His eyes never faltered as Minhyuk leaned back down, smiling, seemingly satisfied that he got rid of the stain on Hyungwon's lips, unaware of the chaos he had brought upon Hyungwon. It took a few seconds for Minhyuk to realize the silence that suddenly overtook them. 

"Hyungwon?" 

"I- I need to go to the restroom," Hyungwon stuttered, standing up abruptly that his knees hit the picnic table. 

He winced and in the corner of his eyes he could see Changkyun looking conflicted. Minhyuk asked, "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah. Uh. Head on without me. Think I'll be there for a while. I'll call you when I'm done." And with those words spat out from his mouth in rapid fire, Hyungwon dashed away from their spot to the nearest restroom. 

Hyungwon splashed cold water onto his face and scrubbed at it roughly. He wasn't sure if he was trying to get rid of the feeling of Minhyuk's fingers brushing over the corner of his lips or the feelings from deep within to not resurface. Either way, he continued to rotate between splashing water on his face and scrubbing at it. He sighed, hands on both sides of the sink as he leaned forward. 

"Already drunk in broad daylight?" Someone to his right asked. 

Hyungwon turned around to look at him, seeing a blonde haired male with blue tips as highlights. He knew there were a few occupants inside the restroom, the sound of doors opening and closing matched with the sound of flowing tap water was hard to miss. But this was the first of many other strangers who dared approached him. 

"No," Hyungwon answered, straightening up. He must look insane to passersby with his wet and red face. "Just, a little breakdown," 

"At such a grand festival? Don't let it bother you too much," the male said. 

"Yeah, thanks for the tip. It's just some personal things." 

"Ah, that's fine. But really, don't let it bother you too much. Live life as you can right now or you'll have regrets." 

Hyungwon shook his head. "I already have too many regrets." 

"Then turn those regrets into lessons. You only have one chance at life, if you waste it on pondering, you'll never get to live it." 

"Thanks man, I will take that to heart. Are you a visitor?" 

The male beamed and it felt contagious that Hyungwon couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. You study here?" Hyungwon nodded his head. "You guys did a great job at the festival. I'm definitely having fun."

"That's good to hear." Hyungwon replied. "I have to catch up with my friends but we have fireworks at night, so don't miss out on that." 

"Oh, definitely. I'll probably stay until the end of the festival." 

"Cool, see you around uh?"

"Hoseok," The other smiled, introducing himself. 

"Hyungwon." He replied. "See you around then, Hoseok,"

"You too, Hyungwon." Hoseok said as Hyungwon left the restroom. Throughout the way to reunite with his friends, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he will definitely see Hoseok again very soon. 

"Are you okay?" Minhyuk asked a little later after Hyungwon rejoined him. 

Changkyun and Jooheon had run off to who knows where so it was only them for now. Evening was about to set in soon and the fireworks show would follow suit. They decided to roam around while waiting for that to happen. 

"Yeah. Why'd you ask?" Hyungwon answered mindlessly. 

"Nothing. You just seem out of it since our lunch earlier," 

Hyungwon shook his head. "Just some things in my mind," 

"Wanna share?" Minhyuk asked. 

Hyungwon hummed. "Not really." 

"Okay. That's cool too,"

"Sorry," Hyungwon sighed out. "It's just some personal things that I don't want to bother you with." 

"There's nothing you could bother me with Hyungwon. We're friends, remember?" Minhyuk said. Hyungwon gave him a small smile but even he could see the reluctance in Minhyuk's face. "Do you want to get ice cream? I heard the Science Department has an ice cream booth,"

"Isn't it too cold for ice cream?" 

"I don't know, is it?" 

Hyungwon looked at him and grinned. "Nah."

They head on over to said booth, it was easier to navigate with the lesser crowd. Everyone had gathered at the courtyard, readily waiting for the fireworks show. They bought ice lollies, each a different flavour before heading to the courtyard. Their friends had promised to gather there to watch the fireworks show. 

"Hey losers!" Both Minhyuk and Hyungwon turned around at the familiar voice, ice lollies midway to their mouth. There was a click sound before Kihyun revealed himself from behind the camera. 

"Ki!" Minhyuk exclaimed, grinning. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you the whole day,"

"The Media Team are busy as heck," Kihyun sighed, joining them in the middle. "We've been running around taking pictures of almost everything." 

"For what? Did you get to enjoy the festival at least?" Hyungwon queried. 

"A little. I got to eat fried squids from the Culinary Department booth. And I saw Hyunwoo hyung but I mostly was taking pictures," Kihyun answered. 

There was a short pause before Minhyuk said, "You didn't answer what the pictures are for. I doubt all of them are used for the Instagram page right?" 

Kihyun grinned. "Yeah some are for the 'gram but the rest is for a project I can't disclose yet."

"What project?" 

"I told you I can't tell yet. It's a secret until it's reveal," 

Hyungwon rolled his eyes but he didn't get to ask more when they arrived at the courtyard. Immediately, their friends waved their arms to garner their attention. Hyungwon spotted Changkyun, Jooheon and Hyunwoo at a spot in the middle of the courtyard and with them was someone he vaguely recognized. 

"Oh! You're from earlier," Hoseok exclaimed, smiling at him. 

Hyunwoo arched an eyebrow at them. "You guys already met?" 

"Yeah, at the restroom. Hyungwon, right?" 

Hyungwon nodded his head. Hyunwoo looked between the two of them and shrugged his shoulders. "Anyways guys, this is Hoseok, the friend I was talking about." 

And, ah, now it made sense to Hyungwon. The personality that wanted to live with no regrets; the energy full of excitement. It was just how Hyunwoo described his love. Hyungwon wondered if Hyunwoo had moved on, to be able to talk to his crush so casually like this again and introduce him to the rest of his friends. Or if he was stuck like Hyungwon still, seeing the bubbling of his feelings resurfacing at the thought of his love. 

"So you guys are the people that Hyunwoo has been so excited to introduce me to! Nice to meet you,"

There was a series of introductions going on between them. They shared stories amongst each other but their conversation was cut short when someone yelled that the fireworks were starting. Hyungwon lifted his head to gaped at the fireworks show in awe. And just like last night, he believed the semester would end well, even if he was pushed to drown with his feelings for Minhyuk.

After the festival, Hoseok and Jooheon fit into their friend group with ease. Jooheon had come to no surprise. With Minhyuk's insistence on befriending him and Changkyun's ever growing crush on the other, it would be before time that Jooheon became part of their friend group despite being from a different university. 

Hoseok, though, was a surprise. 

Hyungwon would expect the day they met at the festival would be the first and last that they would see each other. Hyunwoo's story of Hoseok's tendency to travel and leave a place far too soon stuck in his mind. But as it seems, he decided to stay for longer at the town he used to reside in. In fact, he had been staying for a month prior to the festival, which explained Hyunwoo's constant disappearance and positive energy. It was endearing to see Hyunwoo ecstatic to be around his best friend and crush that Hyungwon wondered how devastating it would be when Hoseok decided to leave for another one of his travels. 

He quickly shook that thought away. It didn't matter what happened next. What matters was what was happening now. And what the present offer was a roadtrip with his friends. 

They became less busy with the ending of the festival. It was now back to the classes and focusing on assignments. Even then, it surprisingly didn't take up much of their time. Which gave Kihyun the chance to suggest a road trip when all seven of them hung out for dinner one night. 

Hoseok, as Hyungwon had heard, really couldn't stay at one place for too long. Because as soon as Kihyun suggested a road trip, he was the one who became wildly excited. They lay out suggestions on where to go, whether to drive there or take the bus and miraculously, they came up with the decision to go to Jeju. It was a long winded discussion, one that managed to let them finish dinner that night, head home, spam the group chat and sneaking texts in between classes for the next two days. But it was decided that Jeju would be their destination.

Hoseok had been to Jeju before and while he spent a good few days there, it was not enough to explore every nook and cranny of the island. While relaxing at Jeju for a whole month sounds tempting, they knew that their schedules as university students wouldn't allow it. So instead they picked three days that would conveniently give way for their short trip. Jooheon would be on his semester break soon, Hoseok had no classes in the first place and the rest of them earned a break from helping out for the festival that extended to two days of public holiday which gave them the perfect timing.

Everything was well planned to be executed and before Hyungwon knew it, they were already boarding the plane to Jeju. 

Their seats were randomized but as if it was fate – and because Hyungwon was reminded that the universe absolutely loved to see him suffer – Hyungwon was seated in between Kihyun and Minhyuk in the middle aisle. And while he longed for that short nap from Gimpo to Jeju, he was sure the other two wouldn't let him. 

They ended up talking to each other in hushed whispers so as to not disturb other people around them. It was a pleasant conversation about everything and nothing at all. 

"Do you think they'll end up dating by the end of the trip?" Minhyuk asked, his eyes looking at Jooheon and Changkyun sitting a few rows to the front on the left aisle. 

"I'll be surprised if they don't," Kihyun answered him. 

"Wanna bet?" 

"I'm not going to lose my money to you, Minhyuk." Kihyun argued. "How much?" 

Hyungwon snorted. "You're more stupid than that passenger asking for a refund because they don't offer wine up here." 

"It's us against you. In my defense, you're just as dumb minded as us," Minhyuk reprimanded. 

"Proof?" 

"I have a list, do you want it?" 

Hyungwon sighed. "How did I end up being friends with the both of you?" 

"Because your life would've been uninteresting otherwise," Kihyun answered with a pitiful note to his voice. 

They arrived at Jeju safely and headed to their homestay with little to no difficulties. The owner of their homestay had been an old couple that Hoseok was acquainted with. They quickly became fond of the seven young males who were around the same age as their own children. The couple let them settle comfortably into the homestay, providing with only the best hospitality.

"So? Where are we heading to for the day?" Hoseok asked from where he was sitting on the couch, already bouncing in excitement. 

"Can't we just vibe for the day?" Jooheon answered him. 

"Are we not vibing right now?" Changkyun inquired. 

"We are but I don't know. That flight made me tired." Jooheon said. 

"It wasn't even that long of a flight," Kihyun pointed out. 

Jooheon shrugged, "I'm sensitive."

"How does an aquarium sound?" Hyunwoo cut through, preventing the prolongation of their previous conversation and Hyungwon was grateful that they have Hyunwoo in their friends' circle. 

The aquarium wasn't too far from where they were staying. It only took them a half an hour drive using the van rented from the old couple owning their homestay. They arrived in no time, only a few of them grumbling about the heat but it was soon quieted down when they entered the cooling aquarium. 

"Do you think there would be whales?" Minhyuk asked, eyes sparkling in excitement. 

"Minhyuk, I respect your obsession with whales but this is an aquarium not the ocean." Hyungwon said. 

"Fun fact, this aquarium has an exhibit that connects to the ocean." Hoseok inserted from beside them. 

"Wait, really? That means I get to see whales?" Minhyuk exclaimed and Hyungwon found it hard to tell him off. 

Hoseok merely shrugged. "If you're lucky."

"Or you'll see hairtail fishes like the rest of us," Kihyun deadpanned as they went further into the aquarium.

Focusing on the sharks turned out to be harder than Hyungwon imagined. Especially when – and possibly only because – Minhyuk was right there, looking all sorts of amazed and thrilled at the aquatic animals behind the glass. Everyone was spread across the place, marvelling at the fishes but only Hyungwon stuck close with Minhyuk. Looking at Minhyuk's excitement over the aquatic animals felt better than looking at the animals itself. 

Hyungwon had to remind himself several times that he was here on a trip to relax, not admire Minhyuk.

"Drink too little and wake up with regrets. Drink too much and wake up to death." 

"That's such a shit life motto."

"I still live by those rules. That's why I don't drink," 

Hyungwon looked at Hoseok in amusement. He swirled around the can of beer in his hand. "At least I can count on someone to be sober and could drive so I could get wasted." 

"Is that a shade on me?" Minhyuk huffed, glaring at him. 

Hyungwon shrugged. "Take it as how you want to." 

"But don't get too wasted. Like I say, drink too much and wake up to death." Hoseok told him. 

"Every day is like waking up to death for me." Hyungwon deadpanned. 

"Oh you're being dramatic," Kihyun said, rolling his eyes. "Just shut up and drink your beer."

Hyunwoo shook their head at them. "Name one day you don't see these two arguing." 

"Error 404, info not found." Changkyun grinned as if he had made an outstanding joke as a Computer Science major. 

Hyungwon rolled his eyes at him. He carefully leaned backwards so as to not fall into the sand. As much fun it was to be out here enjoying the Jeju beach breeze at night, Hyungwon wasn't so sure he wanted to dirty himself with sand. 

After their trip to the aquarium ending with Minhyuk buying a myriad of whale plushies and Changkyun bringing home a shark cap, they went back to their homestay. It didn't last long as Jooheon soon suggested they have a small campfire talk at a beach. The beach wasn't far from their homestay but it was still better to take a car than walk. 

That was how they ended up sitting on logs in a circle, a campfire built in the middle with the help of some locals. Kihyun had bought beers from the nearby convenience store and they winded up drinking out in the open. It was pleasant, the warm feeling in his stomach, the cold breeze on his face and the security of having some of his closest friends with him.

"And that was day one," Hyunwoo announced, taking a swig from his beer. 

"Kinda sucks how fast it went by." Jooheon pouted. 

"But you wanted to stay indoors vibing," Hoseok teased. 

"It was a suggestion, I don't expect any of you to agree to it." 

Hyungwon smiled as he looked at the six people who have brought joy to his life in one way or another. He was surprised how they meshed and piece together. But he realized that it didn't matter how vastly different their personalities were, he genuinely loved being around them. And apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought of it at the moment. 

"You know, I'm glad I met you guys." Minhyuk voiced out. 

"Getting sappy so early into the trip?" Kihyun joked. 

Minhyuk glared at him. "Let me be." 

"Nah, but I'm happy I met you guys too." 

"Thank you, Jooheon." 

Jooheon smiled. He swirled the can in his hand, looking down at his bare foot in the sand – he decided to take off his shoes earlier on, saying something about being one with nature. "I think, you guys have made me feel a lot at home when I've been so far away from it." 

There was a short silence as everyone took time to process the words. They knew the night would take a different turn and everyone was carefully deciding on how to approach it. 

"Yeah, you guys are fun." Changkyun chimed in. "I know we didn't originally meet all together like this but regardless, you guys make me feel more comfortable than with any other people I've met at MXC. I wouldn't want it any other way." 

"Thank you for letting us in your circle," Hyunwoo said, eyes meeting with Hyungwon's. 

It was then that Hyungwon realized that it all started from him, Kihyun and Minhyuk before it grew into the group they were today. If Kihyun didn't glance his way at the lone Computer Science major in the cafeteria, they wouldn't have been introduced to Changkyun. If Changkyun wasn't infatuated with Jooheon and Minhyuk didn't absolutely adore the other when they see each other at where Minhyuk was working, Jooheon who was studying in another university would've never joined them. If Hyungwon didn't join DNYL, he would've never met Hyunwoo and Hoseok would've been a distant mystery from them. 

Hoseok smiled at them, eyes shone in fondness and affection. "Our lives decided to cross paths in order to make a better connection to the universe." 

"Literally," Changkyun snorted. "If Minhyuk didn't bump into me and broke my laptop best believe we wouldn't even talk to each other. At least he bought me a better one," 

"Hey! In my defense no one should bring a laptop to the cafeteria where it was water prone." 

And just like that, the atmosphere had been broken, replaced with boisterous laughter that was swept away by the wind and the crackling of the campfire.

Hyungwon watched on as his friends talked amongst themself. Jooheon had started a drinking game with Kihyun and Hyunwoo and Hyungwon knew they would regret it soon after in the morning when they woke up to start the day. Minhyuk and Changkyun were having fun being spectators who laughed their heads off. 

He smiled as his eyes met Minhyuk's briefly. Minhyuk returned the smile before going back to whatever he was doing with the rest. Seeing him like this, under the night decorated with only a few visible stars and the glow of the moon, the fire illuminating his features, he couldn't help the slight erratic beating of his heart. A pleasant surprise that it didn't ache like it used to. Maybe it was the slight alcohol buzzing in his veins, Hyungwon wasn't sure. 

"Some things feel like a distant dream, don't they?" Hoseok's voice was heard from beside him. 

Hyungwon turned to look at him. "What do you mean?" 

Hoseok wasn't looking at him and Hyungwon wondered if he caught on to his feelings for Minhyuk. But his stare was faraway, like he was looking into somewhere distant that Hyungwon couldn't grasp. At the same time, there was a hint of longing to the stare. As if he was waiting and he waited for far too long that he was tired of the constant cycle. 

"I like to believe in fate. I believe that people meet for a reason and stay in their lives for that reason. It's how I've always believed that he would be in my life," Hoseok said.

It clicked to Hyungwon who Hoseok was talking about and as he turned his head to see the general direction of his stare, he caught sight of Hyunwoo grinning. 

"After my parent's death, I've never had a reason to stay. There was our family home but it's easier to let my sister have it and find another purpose for my life. But Hyunwoo- he feels like that purpose to my life." Hoseok sighed out, smiling sadly. "I've always known there could be more of us than just friends but maybe none of us have the courage to breach into that territory. He has always been so kind to me. He knew I wanted to find a purpose in life and never made me stop finding it." 

There were more unsaid words at Hoseok's pause. Hyungwon looked at him, waiting for him to say more. He wished for a happy ending to Hyunwoo's story more than his own. Because if he knew anyone who deserved a happy ending, it was sweet Hyunwoo who had helped him through his own story. 

"I think, after a while, I've gotten tired of looking for that so-called purpose." Hoseok breathed out. It was like a glass falling onto a concrete floor, the glass shattering into a million shards. 

"Now what?" Hyungwon asked him. 

"It's time I stop leaving and hurt his heart more. If he's willing for me to have it, then I'll take it. He's enough to make me stay," 

Hyungwon smiled at him when Hoseok returned his stare. "He would be immensely happy." 

"I hope, or else this will all be futile." Hoseok said, voice anxious and Hyungwon knew that feeling too well. The uncertainty of everything would be fine when you cross that line of friendship into love. He had been in that situation several times only for one person. 

"Believe me, he would be happy. You guys deserve it." 

"And you do too, Hyungwon. Don't cut yourself short of that happiness," Hoseok commented. 

"I can't do it." Hyungwon said, shaking his head. 

"No one can. It took me years to come to this conclusion of action but I know, in the long run, it would give me that sense of peace regardless of the results. I have no idea what is going on between you and Minhyuk, but I know there's love in there," 

"Minhyuk doesn't see me that way." 

"And how can you decide it for him?" Hoseok asked. "It took me this long when Hyunwoo had bared his heart to me. It's enough that I hurt myself but what about him? I'm sure I've pained him more."

"It's- different." Hyungwon decided. "Minhyuk and I have known each other for so long, he doesn't see me that way." 

"Do you only see it in his point of view or yours? The mind wants us to think of the worst possible case scenario to avoid us of heartbreak when really, it's always that scenario that hurts us more than the reality." 

Hyungwon let Hoseok's words fully sink into him. There was a part of him that wanted to believe that there was a chance for him and Minhyuk. Then there was that part in his mind telling him to scrape that idea completely. It was just how Hoseok had described it. He wondered if there was a chance at peace for him if he poured his heart out to Minhyuk, knowing that the likeliness that he could ruin their friendship was high screaming at the back of his mind. 

"Think about it," He heard Hoseok say as he stood up. "I know Kihyun thinks the same as I do." Hyungwon never got to further ask the implications of those words as Hoseok called for everyone's attention. "Come on guys, I think it's time to head back. All of you have had too much to drink, we don't want a hangover to ruin the plans for tomorrow." 

They stood up obediently at Hoseok's words, clearing up the trash gathered around them and putting out the campfire before piling into the rented van. Hyungwon let his head lull to the movement of the vehicle, never letting Hoseok's words leave him for the rest of the trip and after that. 

Life, as Hyungwon had learnt since a long time ago, worked in mysterious ways. One day he was with his friends enjoying the salty taste of the sea in Jeju and the next he was shoved in the face with the never ending assignments for college. But Hyungwon was used to this as well as expecting this for some time now. Their midterms were soon and after the short delay due to the festival, it was expected that his professors would pile up a stack of work on their heads. Hyungwon learnt that it was better to just make his way through those assignments in quick and easy steps. 

The rest of them sans Jooheon and Hoseok were busy preparing for their midterms as well. More than once you would see them with their backs hunched over their books either in the cafeteria or the library. Hoseok had been kind enough to volunteer as their cheerleader, sending words of encouragement their way with a side of food to make sure they didn't pass out. 

(In another note, Hyungwon had noticed the slight difference that was shown in between Hoseok and Hyunwoo after they got back to Jeju. It wasn't much of a difference, but Hyunwoo looked positively happier with his giggly smiles and Hoseok had been way more touchier than Hyungwon had ever remembered him being with Hyunwoo. He guessed it all turned up well in the end at last. He was happy for them.) 

Jooheon had been busy with his own classes too, adding to the DJ-ing gigs he was booked for. Still, he sent words of encouragement their way and in return they forgot the books for one night to fool around at one of the clubs Jooheon was playing. It was a mix of balancing their studies and hanging out as much as they wanted to with each other. 

So when Hyungwon was finally done with his last paper for the term, he really didn't think much of it. He went straight to his dorm and flopped down on his bed, lights out as soon as his head hit the soft pillows to make up for the days of restless sleep he had gone through. When he woke up the next morning to the consistent knocking on his door, Hyungwon groaned loudly to his empty dorm but removed himself from the bed to open his door. 

Kihyun was standing there, looking all sorts of troubled and flustered as he stared at Hyungwon with wide eyes. 

"What the hell, Kihyun? Didn't I tell you before my last paper that I would be dead to the world for three days after I was done with it? Now why are you disturbing me at this ungodly hour?" Hyungwon grumbled. 

"It's 10 in the morning, Hyungwon. It's a reasonable hour." Kihyun responded. "Anyways, I'm here to say sorry about the photobook. I didn't realize I uploaded those pictures and I know you will be mad but please let me explain and-"

Hyungwon held a hand between them. "What are you blabbering about?"

"The photobook!" Kihyun exclaimed. "You have seen it, haven't you?" 

"What photobook?" Hyungwon asked, confused. 

Kihyun gaped at him. He sighed. "Let me in," 

And Hyungwon let him in wordlessly, knowing his best friend wouldn't leave him alone until he had finally emptied out his mind. He sat on his bed while Kihyun sat on his desk chair, staring at him. 

"Did you not get the photobook? It was sent to everyone yesterday in the afternoon," 

Hyungwon hummed. "I don't know." He answered. "There was a packaging in front of my door when I got home and I took it and left it on my desk," He said, pointing at the packaging. 

"So you haven't seen it?" Hyungwon shrugged. Kihyun sighed again. "Promise me you won't get mad when you see the pictures?" 

"Why would I get mad?" Hyungwon asked as he watched Kihyun's eyes tremble slightly in uncertainty. 

He picked up the packaging on Hyungwon's desk and tore it off gently. "I'll open it, yeah?" 

Hyungwon let him and when the packaging was unwrapped, there was a small book that was glossed over. Kihyun handed it to Hyungwon and he took it gingerly, marvelling at the front cover. The book was thick and smelt new that Hyungwon scrunched up his nose slightly. 

"The photography club was in charge of taking photos of the festival. We were then asked to make a mini photo book in commemoration of the 110th year. It was what I've been working for that day," Kihyun explained. 

"That's neat. Why would I be mad about this then?" Hyungwon asked, looking at him. 

"I- I took a lot of pictures, yeah? Of the festival and of our friends. While uploading the pictures I guess, I was a bit sleepy and uploaded some personal ones from that day as well. I didn't recheck the photos I sent and Mingyu didn't inform me of anything. Other members were in charge of finishing up the photo book so I wasn't directly involved in the process. When we got the photobook today, then I found out," Kihyun trailed off. 

"Find out what exactly?"

"There are- pictures in there. Several maybe with captions and uh, I don't think- I don't think you would be too happy in seeing them." Kihyun finished. 

Hyungwon arched an eyebrow at him. "What page?" 

Kihyun licked his lips nervously, a habit he had since they were younger. He gave Hyungwon a number and he flipped to that particular page.

There were pictures on this page, three to be exact of him. Of him and Minhyuk. It was taken at three different timelines regardless it was still pictures of them from the festival. One was from the time they met Kihyun before the fireworks show, ice lollies midway to their mouth. Another was from the time they sat together to watch the fireworks that night, taken from the back. The last one was from the night before when they were camping out at the courtyard, you could tell that it was late at night by the colour of the sky and they were smiling at each other. Underneath those beautifully placed pictures, was a caption. 

'Memories are made. Even the way you look at me.'

It was probably a continuation of a caption in the previous pages but the words still hit deep inside Hyungwon's guts. Twisting and turning till he felt like churning out the churros he had yesterday as a celebratory snack for finishing his midterms. It wasn't unpleasant, surprisingly, as he looked at how well captured the pictures were. 

"I know. I'm sorry. I get it if you're mad. I really wasn't aware what happened. And- and that caption, I think Wonwoo wrote it. He probably just whipped something out based on his feelings. The photo books have all been sent out so I don't know if I can ask them to take it back and change it. I'm sorry, if it really makes you uncomfortable I'll try asking them to do so. I really didn't expect it to be like that." 

"Kihyun, what are you apologizing for?" Hyungwon sighed out. "I'm not angry at all."

"You're… not?" Kihyun carefully asked, looking at him. 

Hyungwon shook his head. "Yeah, it's- unexpected to see me and Minhyuk in here with that caption. But I'm not mad." 

"Really?" Kihyun asked again, uncertain. 

"Really." Hyungwon nodded sternly. "It's- beautiful, the picture. It's well captured. I'm not mad at all, in fact, I think I like it a lot. I have no idea what the photo book's theme is about but I think I'll like the story it will tell." 

"It's about youth." Kihyun answered. "And I guess, that picture of you and Minhyuk fitted that theme." 

"Ironic, because I spent my youth with him." 

Kihyun smiled at him. "That long of a time huh?" He said. "You should go through the whole photo book. Wonwoo really did well with the wordings,"

"To be expected of a Literature major. I'll do so," Hyungwon replied. 

"You're- really not mad?" 

"No, Kihyun." Hyungwon told him, making sure he got the words through with his stare. "I think, you've made me see a bigger picture with these three photos in itself." 

Kihyun looked at him, confused. "Meaning?" 

Hyungwon shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see." 

"And in his eyes you see, the love that resides within." Jisoo exclaimed dramatically when Hyungwon met up for him for lunch the next day. 

They haven't met up in a while, each busy with their own things. So it was pleasant to see Jisoo again and have him teased the heck out of Hyungwon. 

"What are you? A Literature major?" Hyungwon asked him as he took a seat opposite the other. 

"I told you, I took Advanced Literature in high school, didn't I?" Jisoo said. "Other than the complete drama that was the festival photo book, what have you been up to?" 

"Nothing much, really. We kinda just finished midterms." 

"Yeah, true. Anyways, enough formalities now give me the details. How did Minhyuk react to that picture of you guys?" 

"He gave me an awkward smile," Hyungwon snorted. "Then I told him I liked the pictures and he said he did too, genuinely."

"Ah," Jisoo muttered. "You liked the picture?" 

"It's well captured, of course I would like it."

"I expected you to go a little bit feral over it." 

"Nah. Kihyun did though. Went on a little panic spree thinking I would get mad at him for three innocent pictures. It was harmless, really." 

Jisoo nodded his head, swirling his drink with the straw. "People on campus went wild though."

"They did?" 

"Hyungwon, like you said, it had several well captured pictures. There was genuine love dripping in both your eyes. It was practically a scene from a movie and with Wonwoo's caption? It was begging the crowd to rejoice in a love story," Jisoo replied. 

"Huh, that's one way to see it." Hyungwon mumbled. 

"So? What are you going to do now?" Jisoo asked him. 

"What do you expect me to do? Start my own fake dating romcom movie with Minhyuk?" 

Jisoo shrugged his shoulders. "Lowkey."

Hyungwon sighed. "It doesn't work that way, Jisoo." 

"How would I know? I've never had my feeling reciprocated." 

"We won't know for sure if the feelings are reciprocated," Hyungwon mumbled. In the back of his mind, he remembered the words said by Hoseok when they were in Jeju. 

_"The mind wants us to think of the worst possible case scenario to avoid us of heartbreak when really, it's always that scenario that hurts us more than the reality."_

"Jisoo," Hyungwon called out to him and Jisoo raised his head from when he had been sipping on his drink to look at Hyungwon. "Why do you think you and your two love interests won't work out?" 

"Easy." Jisoo said, leaning back. "They don't see me that way." 

"And how do you know?" 

"Hyungwon, I told you, didn't I? They're already dating each other. Imagine if I told them I like them – both of them. That would be weird, wouldn't it? They'll feel weirded out and that will cause the fallout of our friendship. I can't have that, I love them as my friends just as much as I do beyond just friends." 

And that was it. That was the answer Hyungwon thought the universe wanted him to see. What Hoseok had told him about that night in Jeju. Why always the worst possible case scenario? Why the unhappy ending? Why couldn't it be an ending where it ended with reciprocated feelings and a happily ever after? 

"Why would you come up with that possible case scenario?" Hyungwon asked him, diligently waiting for the answer. 

Jisoo arched an eyebrow at him, he folded his hands on the table and looked at Hyungwon. "Because everything else would be unrealistic. Both of them liking me back? Not in this universe, not in this life and not ever," 

Hyungwon shook his head. "No. It's possible. But we've always been entitled to see only the worst because it feels like we don't deserve that happiness." 

Jisoo looked at him, gaze calculating. Then he smiled, a faraway look in his face. "So what do you say about that, Hyungwon?" 

"I think it's time we let our heart work before our mind." Hyungwon said. "Take that chance away from heartbreak and find that happiness for yourself, Jisoo."

Jisoo's smile widened. He raised his glass of cola at Hyungwon. "A toast to reciprocated feelings?"

"A toast to find that love and happiness,"

Coming to terms with what Hoseok had told him earlier was easier done that he expected. Even so, there was still the inkling of doubt crippling in him at the prospect of not knowing what Minhyuk truly felt about him. It was hard to blindly guess the other's feelings when they had been friends for so long and the line between friendship and romantic feelings were a blur. Minhyuk had always been affectionate to Hyungwon despite him not returning the gestures given to him at full force. Even before he had romantic feelings for Minhyuk, he was sure that he loved him as a friend as well. 

Hyungwon constantly found himself asking, how do you know that said love is beyond friendship? It wasn't an easy question when you know Minhyuk and his tendency to show affection in gestures that could breach friendship. Which was probably one of the reasons why Hyungwon denied his romantic feelings towards Minhyuk all those previous years until he finally decided that he did love Minhyuk as more than just a friend. 

And now he was back to the question – did Minhyuk even see him as more than a friend?

"Are you going through an existential crisis, hyung?" Changkyun asked, looking at the other. 

Hyungwon raised his head from where he had been poking at his lunch to look at Changkyun. "Why do you say that?" 

"You're making that 'I have a couple million problems to overthink about' face, so yeah, it's kinda obvious." Kihyun said, flipping through his notes. Hyungwon scrunched up his nose at him. Why did Kihyun think skimming through his notes in the middle of a cafeteria with food that was certainly not paper-friendly would be a good idea?

"I don't make that face." Hyungwon argued. 

"Yes you do," Hyunwoo said. 

Hyungwon snapped his head at Hyunwoo. "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" 

Hyunwoo shrugged his shoulders. "It's not in me to lie about facts." 

"I'm not making any faces," Hyungwon sighed out. "Where's Minhyuk by the way? Isn't he done with classes?" 

"Ah," Kihyun muttered, looking up from his notes to lock his eyes with Hyungwon. "So that's the problem you're overthinking about," 

"Stop assuming things." 

"I've known you for almost a decade now, do you think I don't know you too well?" Kihyun deadpanned. "He has a group assignment to work on so he's not joining us for lunch." 

Hyungwon nodded his head in understanding. A silence overtook their group, only the sound of cutleries clanging against each other and Kihyun flipping his notes could be heard. He continued poking at his chicken fillet, not really having the mind to eat it. 

"You didn't answer Kihyun." Hyunwoo pointed out. 

Hyungwon sighed. "I'm not overthinking things,"

"That's literally something someone who's overthinking would say."

Hyungwon glared at Changkyun. "I'm not." 

Kihyun sighed, finally putting away his notes into a file. He stared at Hyungwon, hands folded on the table. "If it's about Minhyuk, there's only one problem to it." 

Hyungwon levelled his stare. He finally sighed in defeat. "I hate when you can read my mind," 

"It's something I take pride in," Kihyun answered, grinning. "Now tell us, what is it?" 

"Do you think my feelings would be reciprocated?" There was another wave of silence as everyone at the table blinked at him. Hyungwon fidgeted uncomfortably under their gaze. 

"That's it?" Changkyun asked. "That's the problem?" 

"Do you not think that's a problem?" Hyungwon said. 

"I don't know how to make it more obvious to you hyung when the festival photo book exists," Changkyun deadpanned. 

"Changkyun," Kihyun hissed, nudging at the other roughly. He was still careful about the topic of the photo book when both Hyungwon and Minhyuk had assured him countlessly that they weren't mad or mind it at all. 

"What? It was the talk of the campus," Changkyun shrugged off innocently. 

"It is, isn't it?" Hyungwon answered wistfully, staring off into the distance.

"Is this why you've been thinking of Minhyuk reciprocating your feelings?" Hyunwoo asked him. 

"I mean, there's always that possibility, right?" Hyungwon asked, voice unsure. "There's always the maybe he actually like me back, the possibility of my feelings being reciprocated." 

"And if that possibility ends up being true?" Kihyun asked carefully. 

"Then I'll have to take that chance, right?" Hyungwon said, looking at them. 

They stared back at him, awe in their face mostly from Kihyun and Changkyun. Then Changkyun said, "That's the most positive thing I've heard you say ever since I know of your crush on Minhyuk."

Hyungwon arched his eyebrow at this. He didn't get to say anything more as Hyunwoo went ahead of him. 

"If you think it's time to come clean with your feelings, then do it." Hyunwoo told him. 

"There's a lot to lose," Hyungwon reasoned, the inkling of doubt was creeping back at him. 

"You'll be surprised at how little there is to lose, actually." Kihyun countered. He gave a gentle smile at Hyungwon. "We'll support any of your decisions, Hyungwon. But I won't say any of the options would disappoint."

Hyungwon looked at his friends. Maybe Kihyun was right. The options didn't guarantee disappointment just as it didn't guarantee success. There was always that doubt in his mind, but this time around, his heart spoke louder than his mind. Any negativity was drowned out by the strong feelings held for Minhyuk. Maybe, just maybe, there was a possibility at requited love.

"No." Hyungwon said, as he stared deadpan at Minhyuk. 

"What do you mean no?" Minhyuk exclaimed, seemingly surprised that Hyungwon would reject his offer. Of course he would reject, it all sounded ridiculous to him. 

"You're asking me to go to a concert with you on a Sunday night. That's insane Minhyuk, I have classes the next day." Hyungwon said. 

"Yeah but it's a TVXQ concert! You love TVXQ! And your classes won't start until late afternoon on Monday as far as I know, so why not?" Minhyuk reasoned. 

"Because as much as I love TVXQ, I also love oversleeping on the morning before my classes." Hyungwon answered him. 

"Please, Hyungwon?" Minhyuk pleaded. "You'll get just as enough sleep as you've always had. This is TVXQ! We've been a fan of them since high school and I finally got an extra ticket. We have to go."

Hyungwon sighed, pushing the long strands of his front hair to the back. He needed to cut that soon. "Why did you even buy an extra ticket?" 

"A co-worker bought it for her and her boyfriend. They broke up recently and she didn't know what to do with the tickets. So she sold it to me for a cheaper price. It's sad that she broke up but at least I have tickets to watch TVXQ now, so what do you say?" 

Hyungwon gave it a thought. It was tempting. He had been a fan of them since high school. Both him and Minhyuk were avid fans who bought nearly every album with their allowance. While he had turned into a casual listener as he grew up, he still was up to date with the group's activities. Hyungwon knew they were having a concert soon and he was thinking of attending it. But the tickets had been sold out in a minute and Hyungwon wasn't one to look for resellers so he had basically given up. Now Minhyuk was standing before him, offering an extra ticket to a group they were both once invested in. 

"I would ask Kihyun if you refuse, but I thought I should ask you first because I know how much you love them." Minhyuk said. 

A night out with just him and Minhyuk to go and see their favourite idol group together? Sounded a lot like a date. And a concert date at that? It sounded too unrealistic to be true. But that was the thing right? Even if he thought of how unrealistic it seemed, it turned out to be part of the reality he was living in. Who cared if Minhyuk invited him out of all people because he was one of the few people who was also a fan of the group and he was invited as a friend not as a date? This was Minhyuk he was talking about. Getting to spend a night with him screaming out a fanchant from three years ago that he still remembered fresh in his memory seemed like an ideal night. 

"Okay." Hyungwon muttered out in finality. 

Minhyuk's eyes shone in excitement. He punched his fist into the air, exclaiming a loud 'Yes!' shamelessly. Hyungwon laughed at him. 

"Why are you so excited?" Hyungwon asked. 

"Of course I am! This is going to be a night of our lifetime. Imagine just us bopping to their songs," Minhyuk chattered animatedly as they continued their walk. 

"We're going to make the fangirls feel so intimidated." 

"Two guys busting their lungs over the whole discography? Obviously." Minhyuk inhaled deeply before letting out the breath he was holding. "I seriously can't wait." 

"It's in a week, right? Be patient." Hyungwon reminded him. 

"But I'm excited! This will be our first concert experience together, how can you not be excited?"

Hyungwon looked at Minhyuk and he saw how his eyes basically shone with unconcealed excitement. His grin was wide and bright and Hyungwon had to remind himself to stop looking like a fool in love or someone from the daily news might snap a picture of him staring with adoration at Minhyuk. He couldn't help it. When he had spent so long compressing his feelings for the other and now he got to embrace it dearly even if it was still only between himself and his conscience. Minhyuk was beautiful and bright and Hyungwon was only a man deeply in love with the other. 

He might end up spilling his feelings to Minhyuk right here, right now. 

"Do you think Kihyun would be pissed that we ditched him for a concert night together?" Hyungwon said instead. 

Minhyuk smiled at him, eyes crinkling in mischief. "Do you want to tease him about it?" 

"Only if he doesn't stop providing dinner for us every Saturday," Hyungwon replied. 

Minhyuk wrapped his hand around Hyungwon's wrist. He pulled the other across the campus, ready to start a harmless attack on Kihyun. Kihyun wouldn't mind either way, he loved them too much to be mad for long. Hyungwon let himself be dragged away. They zipped through other students, not caring if they were stared weirdly by others for too long. If Hyungwon smiled widely while they were running, that was for the wind to know. 

If Hyungwon fell a little bit more in love with Minhyuk, that was for his heart to know.

Thinking about it, was it really a date if they would be surrounded by a thousand other strangers in a closed off space? It felt lesser than a date when he thought about how he should be wearing more practical clothes rather than something stylish. 

_Not that you were that much of a stylish person in the first place, Hyungwon,_ a voice suspiciously sounding like Kihyun said in the back of his mind. Hyungwon quickly pushed that thought away and internally cursed Kihyun in his mind. He was going to sulk at the other tomorrow morning for judging his fashion style badly that it haunts his conscience.

Hyungwon stared at his opened wardrobe, at the buttoned up shirts hanging inside which took up most of the space, at the folded pants and pyjamas on the shelf below and the unopened suitcase pushed to the back from when he forgot to unpack since he came back from Gwangju. It didn't really matter what he wore, right? He could put on a graphic tee and a pair of jeans which would've been the most comfortable wear for a concert. 

Somewhere deep in his mind screamed that it wasn't enough. He needed to impress Minhyuk with his appearance – even though Minhyuk had known him half of his life and probably didn't mind much about his fashion style. Tonight wasn't just a night where they would experience a concert together but also a big night for Hyungwon. Because he finally decided that he would confess his feelings today, regardless of the outcome. He needed to look his absolute best because at least if he was rejected, Minhyuk would remember his handsome side when their friendship fell out. 

_What you lack in a fashion statement, you make up with the face._ He remembered what Changkyun said. Hyungwon scrunched his nose in annoyance. Why was it that his friends were always present inside his inner thoughts when he really didn't want them to?

He ended up putting on an old graphic tee with a pair of jeans just like he initially planned. It was simple, practical and like Changkyun said, his looks complemented the overall outfit. Minhyuk texted soon after and they met up outside of Hyungwon's dorm building. 

"Ready for the night of your lifetime?" Minhyuk said, barely containing his excitement. 

"As ready as I could ever be," Hyungwon chuckled, unsure if he was thinking about the concert or the upcoming confession. 

They decided to take the public transport to get to the concert venue, because heavens know if there was a parking spot for Hyungwon's car and if he actually had the energy to drive them back after the concert. The concert wouldn't start until later in the evening but they decided to arrive there a few hours earlier. Their tickets were for numbered seats yet neither of them would've prepared themselves for the crowd attending.

Entering the venue happened in a blur to Hyungwon but the concert, it was something he would never forget. It was one thing to be able to see his favourite singers live, it was another to experience it with his best friend and possibly the love of his life. It didn't matter to Hyungwon if he felt a little out of place amongst the sea of a thousand other fangirls. When he turned to his side and saw Minhyuk's face crinkling in excitement as he chanted the lyrics to the concert playlist, nothing else mattered to him. 

The realization came to him then. Falling in love with Minhyuk had always been easy, from the time they met in high school to the time they had the little fallout between them and even now, it was easy to fall in love all over again. The way Minhyuk presented himself to the world, how he saw the world mostly in rose-coloured glasses prior to the incident, the way he made Hyungwon warm and fuzzy on the inside when he was already sweating buckets from the crowd. There was always Minhyuk when Hyungwon thought about falling in love. And _ah_ , realizing it now, Hyungwon would regret it if he didn't confess tonight. 

"Wasn't that concert fun?" Minhyuk exclaimed, still buzzing with excitement as they exited the venue. 

"Yeah." Hyungwon breathed out. He was still stuck in that post-concert adrenaline but Minhyuk noticed something was wrong with him as he stopped in his tracks. 

"Is everything okay?" Minhyuk asked, concern dripping in his voice and it was hard to admit he was fine when his heart did a thousand backflips in his chest. 

"Hm? Yeah, yeah everything's okay. I'm just, still processing everything that happened." Hyungwon answered him truthfully. 

Minhyuk smiled at him. "A little overwhelmed there?" 

Hyungwon nodded his head as he looked at Minhyuk. Their eyes bore into each other, the adrenaline from the concert still present in their veins. Minhyuk reached out his hand to tuck Hyungwon's hair behind his ear. Hyungwon's eyes fluttered close as he let the feeling of Minhyuk's soft fingers graze his ears. When he opened his eyes again, the air between them seemed intensified but not with the adrenaline from the concert. It was something else, something more personal and heartfelt. 

"You know, there's something I really want to do right now, but I don't want to ruin the moment." Minhyuk whispered out, hands falling back to his side. 

There was surprise evident in Hyungwon's face but he understood what the underlying tone had meant. And he wanted it to. 

"Ruin it." Hyungwon told him. Because to hell if he cared whether the moment would be ruined when he wanted the moment to be something more. 

Minhyuk smiled sadly. "The last time I tried to ruin something, I ended up losing you."

It struck Hyungwon the memory from a few months ago in his family home where Minhyuk had attempted to kiss him. Hyungwon had pushed him away then and it was the beginning of their short fallout. It felt like so long ago when that incident happened but indeed, it had only been a few months ago. It was different then, Hyungwon thought. He had been cowardly and insecure. He had been uncertain. But tonight, tonight was different. Tonight he was certain that he wanted this and knowing Minhyuk wanted the same gave him that extra push of courage. 

Minhyuk looked like he was about to leave but Hyungwon held onto his wrist, looking at him straight in the eyes. "But this time, you will still have me." 

His eyes widened but Minhyuk didn't get the chance to say anything else when Hyungwon pulled him forward and let their lips meet. A noise of surprise was heard from the back of Minhyuk's throat. It took him another few seconds before he relaxed and kissed back. His other hand reached up to cupped Hyungwon's neck, playing at the strands of his hair. They parted ways after what felt like forever and Minhyuk looked at him with glassy eyes. 

"For how long?" Minhyuk asked him. 

"Maybe for as long as we've known each other." Hyungwon answered. 

"I'm sorry." Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon shook his head, smiling. "It doesn't matter. I have you now, I don't need to think about what happened before." 

Minhyuk grinned back at him, even with the tears threatening to fall. "Want to head back to my apartment and talk about it?"

"If you're ready for my long winded love story." 

"It's part of my story too now, right? Let me know everything." 

"Okay," Hyungwon said, decidedly. His hand that was on Minhyuk's wrist slid down until their palms met and Hyungwon intertwined their fingers. "Let's head home?" 

"Lead the way," Minhyuk told him. And it was nice to call it home, when Hyungwon knew that a home was where the heart was. Hyungwon's heart had always been with Minhyuk.

Hyungwon woke up to the smell of passion fruit up his nostrils and a tuft of brown hair blocking his eyesight. He blinked his eyes to see clearer and found that he wasn't in his bedroom back in the dorms. As recollection of yesterday's events came flooding back in, he realized that he was on Minhyuk's bed in his apartment. He looked down, seeing the other hugging him tightly by his waist in his sleep. Minhyuk was smiling slightly in his sleep, puffs of breath hitting Hyungwon on the chest. He couldn't help but smile as well, raking his fingers through Minhyuk's hair. 

Minhyuk whined at this, eyes fluttering open as he looked at Hyungwon. He seemed surprised as well to see Hyungwon in his bed first thing in the morning but that surprise was quickly replaced with recognition. 

"Good morning," Minhyuk said, voice raspy from sleep. 

Hyungwon grinned at him. "I don't mind going to concerts on Sunday nights if I wake up the next morning to this every time." 

Minhyuk laughed at this, snuggling closer to Hyungwon. They fell into silence but it wasn't one that was uncomfortable. Instead it was calming and serene, suitable for a morning like this. 

"Thank you for telling me about everything last night," Minhyuk whispered out.

When they returned to Minhyuk's apartment that night, Hyungwon had told him about how long he had been in love with Minhyuk for. He had told him about all the reasons he was angry about Minhyuk attempting to kiss him that day. Why he felt so betrayed from that incident. He had bared his heart out to Minhyuk and the other had hugged him in comfort. Hyungwon didn't cry, which surprised him more because he knew how emotional he could get. Instead, he poured and poured and poured his heart out until his voice went hoarse. They passed out soon after though, exhausted from the concert. 

"I think, you and I are the same in some ways." Minhyuk said. Hyungwon looked at him, an eyebrow arched in question. "I had feelings for you for a long time too. But I was too scared to admit it so I tried hard to push it away. It ended up with me dating other people I'm barely interested in. I broke my heart and yours as well in the process."

"We're both too cowardly. Though I think if some of the things that happened didn't happen, I don't think we'll have what we're having now." Hyungwon reasoned. "In the end, life did work out for us even if we did have regrets." 

"Take those regrets as lessons in the future," Minhyuk chimed in. Hyungwon smiled at him, placing a kiss on his forehead. 

"Live life as we can right now." 

"So much for an anti-love club," Jisoo mumbled under his breath. "I signed up here for me to dwell on my unhappy ever after. Why must two of the closest people I know here ended up with an angst to fluff romance novel happy ending?" 

Hyungwon rolled his eyes at him. "Don't be dramatic, Jisoo. All of us know there isn't any actual anti-loving in this club." 

"I know. But it was nice knowing that I was once surrounded by single and miserable people like me. Why are you guys still here anyways? DNYL isn't really a club for the requited loves." Jisoo retorted. There was a slight bitter tone in his voice but Hyungwon knew he didn't mean harm in his words.

"Because it's actually a fun club where you get to meet people." Hyunwoo answered him with not much thinking. 

Jisoo sighed. "One of these days, DNYL would be a physical site for Tinder where you fall in love instead of one for heartbrokens to sulk about their unfortunate love life." 

"I don't think it sounds so bad," Hyungwon shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe you'll set your sights on someone new." 

"Yeah, probably, I don't know. I love Seungcheol and Jeonghan too much to ever think that I could move on." 

"Then take that leap of faith." 

Jisoo scrunched up his nose in mild distaste. "Too much of a high jump," 

Hyungwon sighed but didn't get to say anything more as Ten entered the dance studio. Minhyuk immediately took a seat beside him from where he had been playing games with Myungjun, nudging him by the elbow. In the corner of his eyes he could see Jisoo pouting, clearly sulking and to his side, Hyunwoo smiled amusedly. Ten clapped his hand to garner their attention, grinning wickedly as he looked at the same familiar faces for the past semester. 

"Okay losers who are still hung up with their exes, this is the DNYL Club, a place for those dealing with heartbreak and unrequited love. Piece together your shattered heart, today, we're finally talking feelings!"

**Author's Note:**

>  **details that didn't make the cut**  
>  \- kh actually really liked hw when they started dating but then he realized that hw liked someone else. they didn't argue or anything but more of a they rly werent compatible as a couple + hw's budding crush on mh
> 
> \- kh had a crush on mh before they became friends. some time later he realized that both hw and mh liked each other (but were oblivious) so he ended up putting two to two together and decided to just carry on as their best friends. 
> 
> \- he still has lingering feelings towards hw after their break up (even if it was only for 2 weeks+) but he actually really liked hw. he took the break up the hardest but was quick to pick up the pieces and move on. till now he still has lingering feelings but its overpowered by their friendship.
> 
> \- he also still has lingering feelings abt mh. if they were more direct and honest in the past, they would have been in a polyamory relationship but kh would back down of it a few years into the future because he loves them but he really cant see that they would work out well in a romantic relationship even as years go by. 
> 
> \- jh is a famous dj who regulars a local bar. ck happen to go there once in a while and followed him on sns which explains why ck approached him at amber's party. 
> 
> \- wh and sn are childhood friends as well but wh moved away. wh was used to moving around because of his parents' work which explains why he loves travelling even now. they met again by chance and stayed in touch.


End file.
